Nightmare Crush (suo x reader)
Summary: Suo figures out your crush on him WAY too quickly.
The thing is, you don’t even like him that much.
At least, you think?? He’s cute, you suppose. Nothing if not gentlemanly, you guess… But why did he have to clock it so quickly???
The best part of having a non-committal crush is making up horrendously sappy daydreams in their presence while staring off into space. It’s fun because you could be thinking of him twirling you around a ballroom while simultaneously asking for their lunch order (not that Suo ever really eats when he’s at Pothos).
The point is, he would never have any idea that you had crummy romantasy daydreams of him while you watched him sip his tea.
Not awkward. No fuss.
So, it kinda kills the vibe when Suo point blank caught you in the midst of one of these daydreams a few weeks back with a one-liner that will haunt your nightmares forever...
“Does my favorite waitress want to give me goo-goo eyes before, or after I pay for my tea today?” He says, reaching behind you for a napkin on the bar counter.
Shivers. Full on, sub zero shivers. Once he has a napkin, he walks right past you, back to his friends like nothing happened. When you dare look at him again, he’s already ready with a wink and a smile.
Oh, hello awkwardness. Gooday stumbling words. And so long to the low commitment of a minor crush.
And you’re STILL pretty sure you don’t even like him that much.
Not that it matters. Because now, his little gang of friends, Kotoha, probably all of Furin, and maybe even the entire town thinks you have the hottest of hots for Hayato freaking Suo. It’s mostly Sakura’s fault, to be fair. He could feel the jitters vibrating off of you the next time you waited on them. He’s bad at keeping this stuff to himself, and Nirei has the secret keeping capacity of an information broker who gets paid in pennies.
But Suo himself is still the most annoying patron of all. The other Furin guys have largely left you alone (they like teasing Suo more than you, and lord knows that ain’t easy), so the overwhelming energy of the whole ordeal has been concentrated into the awkward tension between you and him.
And it’s rough, man. All he ever asks for is tea or water, but he REALLY loves to milk the five seconds it takes to ask:
“Oh, (Y/n), have you noticed I tried a different shampoo today? Oh, you didn’t? Well, if you’re not too busy staring for whatever reason it is that you may be staring, would you mind getting me a refill? Thank you!”
Kotoha says you’re being dramatic since you’re also the only one who waits tables, but you swear she just doesn’t get it. This conversation always devolves into you whining while she scrubs a glass squeaky clean, and you never really find an answer to your most urgent question:
…what does it all mean???
He knows you like him, he’s made it clear. But he’s not turning you down? You’ve heard a story or two from the other Furin first years at this point; Suo is pretty quick to politely turn down confessions (evidently, he once said he didn’t have a phone when a girl asked for his number). But no one, not even Nirei, has any idea on how Suo approaches someone he likes. You feel a pit in your stomach form every time the thought that he’s just messing with you enters your mind, but there aren’t many other explanations to go off of. More than him just not like-liking you, you despise the thought that he might actually be as cruel as he pretends.
Yeah, boys suck. But please, just not a Furin boy.
On that realization, you decide it’s time to steel your nerves and actually get to the bottom of this. For the sake of Makochi (yeah, sure. You just need the rejection to hit fast and quick).
When he and his friends come in on a particularly busy day, you tighten the bow on your apron with a courageous inhale and head over to their table. Sakura gets omurice and Nirei picks out something he’s never tried. When you get to Suo, he’s ready with another sweet little line.
And for the first time in a long time, you didn’t blush as he looked at you with that one mirthy eye.
“Yeah. sure.” You barely acknowledge him. Your voice comes out as flat and blunt as dropping a sack of flour on the ground.
His eye goes a little wide and his mouth snaps shut after opening slightly. The smile dims just a bit, but it never leaves his face. He has no follow up comment and simply looks back to his friends as if you weren’t there. You soon make yourself scarce to deliver the orders.
A thin, damp sheen of unshed tears coats your eyes while you stack empty plates on another table. The understanding, the apathy in his face told you all you needed to know.
He was done with you. He’s had his fun teasing you and your little crush, so now he’ll just resume his distant, polite platitudes. Your hands in front of you begin to blur - plates clatter loudly as you rush to deliver them to the sink and hover over it in case your eyes can’t hold on any longer. After a minute, you rise again; tears unshed, but you make sure not to rub or dry them either so they don’t look too red.
The furin boys leave. Your shift comes and goes. You wave to Kotoha as you put your jacket on and then you’re out the door. All you expect to greet you when you go outside is the crisp night air, but from the corner of your vision, you see a tasseled earring blow into view.
The movement catches you off guard and you swivel to meet the boy face to face. “Woah, hey. You scared me”
“Sorry about that,” Suo pushes off of the wall using the hands that were still behind his back.
You shift your weight from one leg to the other and try not to look too lost in thought, but your mind is racing. Like, has he been waiting here since he left the cafe?
“May I talk to you? If you’re not in a rush.” He smiles lightly, but you’ve seen his smirk enough to know this one is a little strained.
“Mm, yeah, I’m not busy, I just gotta make sure I don’t miss the last bus” - Smooth. Casual. You’re good at this genuine nonchalant thing.
“Oh, I’ll walk you there now” He gestures before him and waits for you to start walking. Your brave face leaves you when you stumble over the pavement to catch up to him.
The night air is pleasant, but you still feel stiff and nervous. From your side view, you can see Suo looking up to admire the trees and stars. He seems fully at ease. You wonder if this feels awkward for him at all.
He looks ahead of him again before speaking, “I should apologize to you.”
Okay, here we go. Let’s get this over with. You inhale before asking, “For what?”
“I think… I've been giving you the wrong impression with how I feel.” He’s smiling, but still not looking at you.
“U-um, how so?” With every word your resolve is cracking. Rejection is on the horizon, and all you can do is watch.
“Well, how do you think I feel about you?” He looks over and grins with his eyes (eye?) closed. Goddamnit, another game? Never let this man into Vegas, cuz he doesn't know when to quit.
Suo’s perky attitude is grating on you now, especially since it’s at your expense. So you decide to be blunt.
“I think you’ve had a good time playing with my feelings.” You shock yourself a bit with how flat your tone was. Guilt hits you the second you finish speaking, so you backpedal just a bit.
“But apology accepted, I guess…”
You trail off when you see his expression.
He looks horrified. At least, as horrified as someone like Suo can look. He stops walking to face you. He doesn’t speak for a moment even when you look at him. His expression goes from mildly horror, to semi sad, until he finally sighs.
“I’ve made a mistake, I really am so sorry.”
“You already said that? Apology accept-”
Out of the pitch black night, a gust swirling with autumn leaves picks up your hair and has you squinting against the pressure. The stars are twinkling, the trees are rustling, a squirrel or two duck and cover under the urban shrubbery, but you don’t notice.
When you open your eyes again, his deep maroon bangs are tickling your forehead. Suo’s face is so close you could count the lashes on his one good eye. His pupil is rich in color, but still piercing. His mouth was set in a firm line; Not an unusual expression on him, per say, but it was still nerve racking up close. You look off to the side to avoid his sudden scrutiny.
It’s then that you notice his forearm is blocking you from the wind while gently pinning you to the brick wall behind you. HIs other arm is slightly lower, his fingertips pressing the wall next to your waist.
“I’m-” his voice cracks “I’m sorry that I wasn’t being clear.”
You’ve never heard Suo have to repeat a line. At last, hindsight was hitting you like a truck. Earnisty was never something you associated with Suo, but the sincere attempt at seriousness in his tone was completely rewriting every interaction you’ve ever had with him.
“I like you, I have for some time” He breathes out quietly. “Please don’t be mad.”
His teasing remarks, they were always sincere - always had a purpose past his own entertainment. You immediately think to blame yourself for not seeing it sooner, but that’s not right. Your annoyance was real too. The confusion you felt through it all was due to one simple fact:
Picture perfect Hayato Suo is actually just bad at expressing himself.
The thought makes you huff out a little laugh. Suo looks back at you, unsure of what to make of your reaction.
You shake your head to put him at ease, at last, with a smile on your face.
“M’ not mad, Suo, but wow.”
You don’t see it in the dim night, but his ears go red. His head droops and he lets out a huff of relief, hands still pressed at your sides.
Your arms and itching to be released from his phantom grasp on you. The proximity is making you more lightheaded with every second. Instead, you opt to flick his earring. He gets the idea and backs off a bit. The look on his face couldn’t be more dreamy.
…
Ten minutes later, you’re at the bus stop.
You rock back and forth on your feet, but not out of nerves. Right now, you feel light as air. Suo must feel the same; you catch him hum once or twice. When the bus comes, you look back and say,
“See you tomorrow?”
“Oh, yes, see you.”
As you wave a final goodbye, he speaks up again.
“Although, my class isn’t on patrol tomorrow… a shame, we usually go to Pothos as a group.”
He puts on a faux ponderous look, “I guess I’ll be going alone, this time, so you’ll just be making tea for two.”
For two… but... oh. Heat rises to your face. As the bus door closes, you see a satisfied smirk on Suo’s smug little pirate face. He just had to get in the last laugh.
The blush doesn’t leave your face for the rest of the bus ride.
Jeez, what a nightmare.
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Love writing an mc who knows when to get over a crush, also love me a love interest who has to earn mc's trust back.
I've been writing this for like over a month. I reaaaallly wanted to get it out before the next manga chapters come out cuz if those completely change Suo's characterization I would probably want to rewrite the whole thing. I'm pretty proud of this on a line level. Hopefully I can get back to some Karma stuff.