#i'm so sorry it took a thousand years to post aha....

[mintsv]

cherry blossom - k. gyuvin

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pairing ➷ gyuvin x gn!reader

synopsis : you and gyuvin were in your last years of high school and lived beside each other. at school, he's captain of the basketball team, gyuvin is friendly and easygoing, not to mention he's extremely popular. on the other hand, you're the class president and have been for many years, you very studious, making you not have many friends. nevertheless, your fateful friendship bloomed under the cherry blossoms of april.

genre : romance . fluff . slight angst . high school au

word count : 3.5k

warnings : swearing (only once tho)

notes : hii i posted again finally!! sorry bcs english isnt my first language there might be some grammar errors 😅, it's also my first time writing a gn!reader so i'm sorry if i make some mistakes ;D

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➷ the first encounter

it was the month of april, the start of spring, and your favorite month of the year mostly because you enjoy gazing at the cherry blossoms on your way back from school. you wore a mid-length puffer jacket since the weather was a bit chilly, holding your hands up to your face to see your fingertips have become slightly reddish. you sigh as you bury your hands back in the pockets of your puffer as you tried distracting yourself from the cold by talking to your classmate beside you.

"soo.. about the cherry blossom festival, i was thinking we could do something involving our basketball team since you know, the captain is in our class of course.." she giggled, acting giddyly similar to a child.

"well, I've had 5 people telling me the same thing and i'll repeat my answer one last time, I'll think about it okay? but there's a big chance it's not going to happen." you exasperatingly sigh as the girl beside you inevitably left after realizing you wouldn't agree to her request.

as the class president, your duty is to arrange class activities, one of them being the cherry blossom festival happening in a few weeks time. there wasn't a particular reason why you denied all the requests, you just weren't very fond of the boy. he was always late to class, sometimes even skipping entirely to play basketball. his behaviour took a toll on your status as class president, teachers who couldn't get through the boy would often scold you instead.

you thought this calming walk back home couldn't get any worse until you were met face to face with the devil himself.

he wasn't walking home with his friends like he normally would, he looked back when he felt someone's stare burning holes on his back, his eyes with yours almost immediately.

as if on cue, a 10 thousand won bill (around 7 usd) fell from one of the swaying cherry trees, landing perfectly in between you and him. both of your eyes followed the bill as it glides down to the concrete floor, your eyes going back and forth from the bill to the boy in front of you.

CRASH!

"Ow!"

feeling a head collide with yours, you let out a painful hiss while holding your head with one arm. slowly you look up to see the boy in front of you mirroring your movements. you were both knelt down, one hand on the dollar bill with the other clutching your heads.

"Aha! my hand is under yours, that means the 10k is mine." his words woke you up from the trance you were in, widening your eyes when you realized your hands were on top of his own. you quickly pulled away but that didn't mean you were backing up.

"yeah but that's because you hit my hand!" you retorted back, showing him the red mark on the back of your hand.

"it was just an act of self defense i'm sorry, um.. what if we just split it, I'll buy you something from the cafeteria?" the boy rubbed the back of his neck nervously, stretching out his hand that held the dollar bill.

you thought to yourself for a moment before replying,

"fine, i'll forgive you under three conditions." you stood up with your arms crossed. the boy in front of you following as he nodded erratically.

"one, you can never be late nor skip classes from tomorrow onward and explain to mr lee why you've been late this entire time. two, your basketball team has to participate in this year's cherry blossom festival as the representative of our class. and three, you owe me a carton of strawberry milk." you smirk proudly, seeing the color drain from the boy's face.

"okay okay, what if we skip number one and two and i'll buy you TWO cartons of strawberry milk? how does that sound?" he pleaded.

"fine then, i'm telling the counselor you hurt a fellow student." you started to walk back to school but before you could take another step, a hand held your wrist to prevent you from walking further, just as you expected.

"okay, fine. jeez i didn't know the class president was this stern." he smirked almost flirtingly even though you didn't get the hint.

"i have a name you know, it's y/n." you turn to face him again, annoyed because in the school almost no one calls you by your real name and for some reason it made you think no one actually knew your name.

"alright y/n, i'm kim gyuvin and it's nice to meet you too." he grinned similar to a puppy, extending his hand waiting to be shook by yours.

you looked at his hand, back to his face, and to his hand again. after a few seconds of contemplation, you lightly extended your cold hand which was quickly greeted by the warmth of gyuvin's.

just for a moment there, you felt a foreign feeling of butterflies swarming your stomach.

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➷ a few months later

"KIM GYUVIN!" you bang on his apartment door, looking at the time on your phone before stepping away from the door.

"I'M UP! I'M UP!" like usual, the door slammed open, revealing a disheveled gyuvin in his school uniform that was horribly crinkled. his eyes were barely open and his hair was stood up, obvious that he had just gotten up from bed.

"did you sleep in your school uniform?" you tilt your head, looking at him from head to toe with a concerned look. it was your daily task to wake up gyuvin every morning ever since you found out that the both of you lived beside each other, obviously neither of you ever noticed considering gyuvin's 'always late' agenda and your 'always early' one.

"no.." you roll your eyes as he sheepishly smiles.

"there's still 30 minutes, go take a shower, you stink." you forcefully push the boy back into his apartment, shutting the door behind him. you could make out a bunch of whines coming from the opposite side, meanwhile you couldn't help the small grin from forming on your face.

after 10 minutes, the door opened for the second time, unveiling a less disheveled gyuvin. his hair fluffed up giving him a boyish look, the tiredness in his eyes was now replaced with a glint of excitement, his clothes seemingly less crinkled and his puppy-like smile on full display.

god you thought you had just fallen in love for the millionth time.

gyuvin slung his arms around your shoulder almost putting you in a headlock, "I know i'm terribly handsome but we might be late if you can't stop staring." he gave you a smug look in which you returned with a disgusted one.

"whatever."

you both walked to school as usual, his arms weren't slung around you anymore since there were other students around and gyuvin didn't want them 'getting the wrong idea'.

arriving at school on time was something gyuvin wasn't used to but he didn't mind if it meant he could spend more time with his best friend, you (of course).

"you're coming to my match this afternoon right, class prez?"

'class prez' that was the nickname gyuvin gave you ever since you both met, he would rarely call you by your real name, only if things were serious which barely ever happens anyways.

"yeah, if i can." you respond nonchalantly.

"you always say that, but at the end of the day you always come." he gave you a small grin which made your cheeks turn a pinkish hue.

"whatever."

"whatever, whatever, whatever, do you ever say anything else?" as the both of you continued bickering, the boy's contagious smile made you break out into a grin as well. to other people, both of you looked like two kids madly in love with each other. as cliché as it sounds, it was painfully obvious to everyone except you and gyuvin.

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school had just officially ended for the day. Your classmates bid you goodbye, everyone in a hurry to see the upcoming basketball match between your school and the neighboring school. of course, gyuvin had left earlier in order to fulfill his duties as team captain. currently, you were fulfilling your own duties as class president with your assistant, park gunwook.

"y/n why do we have to do this? can't we just do this tomorrow, pleaasee i really wanna see the match!" the boy beside you pleaded, having his head ontop of his folded arms, looking at the window where you could see students holding banners hurrying inside the school gym where the match was held.

"if you stop whining we might be able to sort these in time so we can see the match, gunwook." you reply sternly, quickly going over the files the teacher assigned you.

"don't lie y/n, i know you wanna skip and watch your loverboy too." gunwook looks to you with a teasing glint in his eyes that you didn't take notice of.

"my what? stop fooling around and help me sort these!" though your voice was a bit shaky, it seemed to convince gunwook enough for him to start helping you.

as time went by, you skimmed over the endless stack of files, eyes growing visibly tired and red. on the other hand, the 'assistant' beside you had already fallen deep into dreamland after helping you with one or two files. you couldn't help but listen to the ongoing match inside the gym and the faint sound of cheering, praying you'd finish these soon enough to join in the bleachers.

after a while, you finally finished sorting the needed files, rubbing your eyes tiredly. you dropped the files in front of gunwook with a loud thud.

"AHH YOU SCARED ME!" he woke up in a cold sweat, holding his hand to his heart.

"take these to mr choi, i'm leaving now." you quickly pack your bags, leaving the boy alone in the classroom still recovering from the shock you gave him.

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inside the gym, it was break time for both teams and gyuvin's eyes couldn't help but scan through the crowd of people on the bleachers, not seeing the face he was looking for, he sighed in defeat as his mind went back to the conversation he had with you in the morning.

><

"i'm serious gyuvin, i might not be able to make it today, i have a lot of things to do, so i apologize beforehand."

"it's okay, don't apologize, it's not your fault. just..come by if you can."

><

his mood was somewhat down since the start of the match, leading his team to worry about the boy.

"hey man you ok? a little bit more and we can catch up, don't give up now!" his teammate, ricky spoke up while slinging his arms around the brunette's shoulder.

"no it's not that, ricky." gyuvin removed the arm around his shoulder, slumping down onto his seat, head hung low.

"ohhh i know, it's because his 'class prez' isn't here yet." his other teammate, yujin chirped in an attempt to ease the tension, earning a nudge from ricky.

"dude don't say that!"

"what? say what?!" yujin held his lower stomach where ricky had nudged him as they both continued to bicker.

gyuvin wasn't paying attention to the two boys in front of him, more focused on his phone which he unconciously keeps checking. he had hoped for a text message from you, confirming if you were coming by or not. but no matter how long he waited, the text never came. eventually, the horns had blasted, signalling the start of the final round to decide the winner of the match.

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meanwhile, arriving at the basketball court, you ran to the bleachers, taking up the last remaining spot on the railing as your eyes scan the court in front of you. you were out of breath from all the running you did to get here, chest heaving up and down as your eyes frantically searched for the brunette.

as gyuvin was getting into position, his eyes trailed to the bleachers one last time. to his surprise, the first pair of eyes he had met was yours. the frown on his face was suddenly nowhere to be seen, his eyes lit up and he felt a warm feeling engulf in his heart.

hurriedly, you scribble down 'kim gyuvin!' on a page of your sketchbook, holding it up for the boy to see. gyuvin's smile got impossibly bigger upon seeing his written name, his eyes lit up as he shamelessly waved to you which made his teammates look at him, dumbfounded and also slightly relieved to know their captain was back.

"see, i told you if y/n comes he'll be back to normal." yujin smirked as he nudged ricky, who seems to be unbothered by the younger male, his focus mainly on the pair before he eventually drags gyuvin to his designated position as the referee signalled the start of the game.

throughout the final game, you were incredibly stressed out while your eyes moved back and forth from the score board and to the brown haired boy. both teams were already incredibly tired except for gyuvin who looked like he was playing in the first round.

"pass! pass!"

the brunette yelled from across the court, after obtaining the ball, he took a risky move which made you and a few others jump from their seats. the scores were exceptionally close and time was limited, meaning if he managed to score this 3-point, the team is guaranteed a victory.

for a split second, the crowd went silent as gyuvin shot the ball. just as the timer ticked zero, the crowd erupted with cheers and the alarm went off signalling the end of the match. gyuvin had succesfully scored a point, making his team the ultimate winner.

the boy felt like he was on cloud 9 with so many people calling on his name and his teammates hurdling around him with smiles on their faces. but most importantly, there you were on the bleachers, smiling at him and giving him a thumbs up which he found utterly adorable. after the cheers had slowed down, gyuvin excused himself from his teammates, running to the locker and changing his clothes as fast as he could.

when he got out, he was met by your presence almost immediately.

"congratulations! sorry i couldn't come earlier." your smile wasn't as big since you tried to keep your cool in front of hin.

gyuvin didn't respond for a while which worried you, but you were surprised to feel your feet up in the air as two arms lifted you up and spun you around. you held onto his shoulder for balance basically hugging him as you could smell his faint cologne making you blush provusely. the red on your cheeks didn't go unnoticed by the boy but he only shrugged it off thinking you were just excited for him.

after many complaints from you, gyuvin put you back down. he smiled ear to ear as he rubbed his nape nervously.

"sorry, i'm just happy you came." you couldnt bear the eye contact with him, your eyes searched for anything other than the boy.

"by the way you look really tired, was there a lot of work?" he continued, cupping your cheeks with both of his hands, forcing you to look at him. it was something he often did and it made you feel butterflies as his two hands felt warm on your cold cheeks.

"y-yeah i had to do everything by myself since gunwook fell asleep halfway, it's fine though i'm not that tired." you tried to reassure him, circling your hands around his wrists to pull him away but it only made him squish your face harder which made you let out a whine.

"but your eyes are so red! hurry, i'll take you home so you can get some rest." finally letting go of your face, he takes one of your wrists and lead you to the gym where all his friends are waiting for him.

"gyuvin i feel fine, i wanna stay here longer please?"

"why do you want to stay here-" his words were cut short by an unfamiliar voice.

"kim gyuvin!"

from behind the boy appeared a girl who looks to be one of your underclassmen. it's no doubt gyuvin is popular among seniors, but classes below you weren't an exception either.

gyuvin turned around to face the younger girl and you followed suit, leaning in a bit to listen to their conversation.

"can i help you?" gyuvin spoke in a polite manner.

"gyuvin oppa, can we talk outside i have something to tell you." the girl fiddled with the hem of her skirt nervously, you already knew where this was going and gyuvin did too.

"i'm sorry i-"

"please? it's really important it wont take long.." the girl pleaded, holding on to the hem of his shirt and the sight almost making you puke.

despite gyuvin's hesitation, he looked back to you and mouthed a 'sorry' before being rushed off by the girl.

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after gyuvin left you let out the biggest sigh, having such a popular best friend was hard and not to mention your enormous crush on him made it even worse.

essentially you wanted to stay at school longer to spend time with the best friend who just left you, but since he's no longer here you find a spot to sit on the bleachers. you remember the two cans of soda in your backpack, now having no one to share them with.

as you pop open one of the cans, before you could take a sip, you felt a presence beside you.

"hey, can i sit here?" a familiar voice caught your attention, shen quanrui aka ricky who is your classmate and one of gyuvin's friends.

"oh, um sure." you took your backpack from the seat, putting it on your lap and taking a sip of your soda.

"soo.. y/n right? i heard a lot about you from gyuvin."

"haha yeah.. you're ricky right? i also hear about you from gyuvin."

an awkward silence flew in the air for a solid 10 seconds.

"do you know what he's doing right now? i've been looking all over and i can't find him." his question reminded you again why you were talking to him in the first place, he left cause some girl is gonna confess to him, should you really say that?

"well, a girl pulled him outside, said she has something important to tell him and you can guess the rest." you chuckle bitterly.

"it's hard to be friends with someone so popular isn't it?" somehow his statement brightened your mood a little.

"yeah, that's exactly what i was just thinking." you finally had the courage to lift your head and look at the blonde beside you.

ricky was also semi-popular, his looks are well known to everyone in the school and his personality wasn't so bad either.

"so he really left you alone here? what an asshole, maybe i should beat him later." he put his hands into fists and started punching the air like a boxer.

"oh please don't, i think the girl he's talking to right now has tortured him enough." ricky laughed and you followed suit, feeling more comfortable as time went by.

"do you like soda?"

"well it depends, i only like it when it's a 1+1 deal." you chuckle, handing him the can of soda in your backpack since yours was almost finished and you wanted to have a soda buddy to drink with.

"thanks, i like it even better when it's free."

"oh please, you owe me lunch tomorrow."

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meanwhile outside of the gym,

"oppa, i really like you- no! i love you please go out with me!" the girl stretched out her hands, holding a thick envelope which could only mean one thing.

"i'm really sorry, but i'm not interested in relationships right now. and i don't want your money." the boy politely bowed, pushing the girl's hands back.

"please! i'll double the money if you want to, just go out with me once, i really like you please give me one chance!" gyuvin has had a series of confessions to him, but this was his first one that seemed a bit extreme.

"i can't, i'm sorry but i-"

"oppa, do you like someone already?"

"what?" the question made gyuvin stop in his tracks.

"you do don't you? is that why you don't want to accept my love? who is it just be honest!" the younger girl was now sobbing uncontrollably which fueled panic in gyuvin who didn't know how to properly comfort the girl, especially being the reason shes crying in the first place.

"no i don't like anyone, but i'm sorry i can't go out with you please stop crying.." he nervously patted her back in an attempt to soothe her but it had only made her cry louder, hence he stood and did nothing at all.

"oppa, you like y/n don't you?"

"what? no.." gyuvin felt a lump in his throat, his head suddenly flooded with thoughts of you, his best friend.

"so you do.. lucky them." the girl wiped the last of her tears before cowardly running away, leaving gyuvin dumbfounded with a new thought clouding his brain.

'do i like y/n?"

read chapter 2 here!

-> extra note : this is also gonna be two or three parts SORRY THIS TOOK SO LONG but i hope you enjoy it because this was really cringe when i wrote it 😅 (fyi the opening was based on a recent film i watched on netflix called omg (oh my girl) its really good highly recommended!)

[cherubchoirs]

What do you think if the Phantom Thieves (except Futaba) all had Shadows they had to confront and fight (like in p4), and what would they be?

OK this one is super interesting and it’s taken me MONTHS to get to, so let’s gooooooooo (will include p5r spoilers!)

i think all of their contracts sort of give us an idea of what their shadow selves may be (meaning goro is more up in the air), and i like to go with the idea that in p5, their shadows are how society has forced them to act. they have incorporated that into the self and conformed to it, but they don’t wish to acknowledge that they do so, instead making themselves believe they have no choice. futaba’s shadow, as the example, wishes for her own death as she was a burden and a curse to her mother...but she also made futaba aware this was a lie concocted by adults that took away her agency and her anger. SO with that in mind, here are the takes!!

akira - the bystander, the boy told to keep out of the way and to keep his head down. he’s determined to live a quiet and peaceful life, to get through his probation and swear to turn the other way when evil happens in front of him. akira is ashamed of the impulse because he knows what’s right, he knows he needs to help, but his shadow is all about self-preservation and avoiding further punishment. so he protects himself and only himself by feigning ignorance and closing his eyes, his ears, and his mouth. his shadow says “i already got mine, they’re on their own”

ryuji - the traitor, the boy who ruined the dreams of the track team and wears it with pride. he destroyed their hopes of the future and now has become a delinquent, free of the responsibilities he once had to himself, to his mom, and to his school. he can be rude, crass, and vulgar (lol) to his heart’s content because no one expects any more of him after enacting such violence. his anger runs deep and he doesn’t care about how he hurt his old team, they deserved it for never standing up for themselves.

ann - the sweetheart, the girl always there with a kind but seemingly empty word for her friend, supportive but distant. however, she instead tries to work within the confines of the world, trying to save the ones she cares about by using her looks and the reputation everyone puts on her because of them, pretending to be a flirtatious airhead to please those that may hurt the only person she cares for. she hurts herself over and over again, breaks down her own sense of self worth to sacrifice endlessly in ways others never see. she takes the pain forever with a smile.

yusuke - the student, the boy who knows the lies his teacher tells to him, but he is forever devoted to preserving the image his superior has both to the world and to himself. he believes his debt extends to worship, faith in the teacher who is a genius, who knows best, who is so much older and so much wiser and so must be doing right. in fact, he should be so lucky to have his work considered good enough to carry his teacher’s name instead of his own, he should happily produce for him because his teacher’s reputation has no price too high. surely he at least must return the cost of caring for him when no one would.

makoto - the role model, the girl who is quick-witted and resourceful, she can juggle every task the incompetent, lazy, or uncaring adults entrust to her. after all, their responsibilities are so much greater than even hers, just a silly high school student with all the time in the world to perform their lowlier tasks for them. she accepts every ask with grace and tact, she turns down no request and will work herself past the point of burn out for praise, for recognition, for the promise of her future. this is just the way the world is, she must get used to it now if she wants to survive.

haru - the princess, the girl who’s always charming and polite, perfectly prim and never a bore but her words are always shallow. she seems to only exist at gatherings and galas, always smiling, introduced by a beaming father and complimented on how beautiful she is, how she will make a most wonderful wife now that she’s blossoming into a young woman. she worships her fiance, she has captivated his whole family and, most importantly, his father with how delicate and vapid she is. a wonderful spouse up for trade, the loveliest business venture her father ever pursued.

goro - the orphan, the boy who is helpless and was left abandoned by his family and by society. he has no will of his own that he can inflict on the world, instead he is battered by fate and by an actively cruel reality, a curse, unwanted and unneeded by anyone. he elicits disgust in whoever he meets, yet he yearns deeply to be loved and to be accepted, he begs for it and everyone he meets that will give him any time of day are his “friends”. he believes there is no such thing as unconditional love and no matter what he tries, his struggle will be rendered futile.

sumire - the doppelganger, the girl that believes she is only a shadow of a sister far more talented and determined than she could ever be. she only had worth defined by another, one she followed around like a weight, dragging her down with her incompetence. a burden for her sister, pitied awkwardly by parents, an inconvenience that grew increasingly irrelevant and irritating with every passing day until she botched her own death. now she is a shadow without a body, the wrong girl taken in her attempt on her own life, the ultimate blunder ever committed by another human being. she pantomimes her sister more and more poorly, although she’s tricked herself into believing she really is her in her house of ashes.

morgana - the monster, the boy that can’t face who he really is for he fears what he will see in the mirror. he lives happily in ignorance, never wanting to remember his origins or his duties and he indulges in his freedom without worry of where he comes from. after all, if he has no idea of his past, he can imagine himself as anything he wants - a dashing rogue, a swashbuckling hero, a gallant thief, he is whatever he makes himself to be without the burden of his history. he never turns around too quickly, never wanting to catch a look at himself because every now and then he sees jail cells, black ooze, darkness. but that’s not him.

[scarletbluebird13]

hii! I was searching through the masquerade kiss tag and saw you're new,so I guess I wanted to somewhat welcome you!?I'm a bit of a lurker tho,so I'm doing it as an anon oop,and as for requests,maybe something fluffy for kazuomi x mc?the general theme doesn't really matter that much but they lack that kind of content. thank you for your time!

Care to Dance with Me?

*•° *•° *•° *•° *•° *•° *•° *•° *•° *•° *•° *•° *•° *•° *•° *•° *•° *•° *•° *•° *•° *•° *•° *•° *•° Title: Masquerade Kiss

Pairing: Kazuomi x MC 

Tags: Fluff 

Word count: 1048

A/N: Hiya nonnie!  Thanks for the welcome! :D *internally screams in bliss that the tags are working* also oh my god i copy + pasted the fic on here, and when i did the format of your ask got all screwed up, so i hope when I post it’s not that screwed up?? still learning aha  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I welcome you to lurk to your heart’s content (as time passes, I hope to keep uploading stuffs xx)! god knows lurking was all i did my first year on tumblr oop- Yess, I can definitely understand the lack of fluff content for that particular title 😳Thank you for the ask, and sorry this took a bit long! Hope it’s to your liking :)  : 

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          Sleep’s gentle song slowly wore off. Every second of it is slipping away - like the grains of sand slipping down an hourglass - and I can do nothing to stop it. I’ll try to get back to sleep. Never know when my next mission will be -- and how often do I get a full night’s rest anyway? That turned out to be a fleeting, hopeless thought. As it happened, when I tried to move my arms, I felt a strong weight preventing me from doing so. 

Crap! What’s that?!

A sudden burst of energy fills my body and my instincts as an agent taking over; I jerk my head to look around, to which I find the culprit, arms. 

That’s when I remembered where I was, and my body relaxed once more. Raven Resort Tokyo. Kazuomi’s living room - annnd it’s date night.

To the left, the tv glares. The movie Kazuomi and I were watching is still playing - I must’ve fallen asleep at some point. 

            The scene changes and now the two main characters are in a ballroom illuminated by some golden light - the dancing scene, my favorite. The actress’s dress is beautiful - it flatters her figure, a simple, pretty design covers it, but does not dominate: it’s clear she is wearing the dress, the dress is not wearing her. 

            I love this movie - I’ve wanted to see it with Kazuomi too, afterall, Tom Cruise is in this movie, it’s the one he made his debut in. Eager for my fictional love to enter the frame, I hear a little chuckle overhead. 

“Finally wake up?” 

A bit startled but not surprised by the voice, I see Kazuomi smirking above me. 

“You were knocked out for at least 40 minutes. You must be tired after that mission. I thought of turning off the movie, but I figured you’d take my head if I stopped watching the movie the only other man you love happens to co-star in.”

“You’re not wrong.” I reply to Kazuomi’s snarky reply.

“Do you like this scene?” He asks, after momentarily chuckling and fixing himself so that he protects me from the battering cold air in his living room, hugging me to his chest.

“It’s a cute one.” No way am I going to admit to Kazuomi that I like this sort of cheesy stuff - especially not that I savor this particular scene and treasure this movie, it being the only one in Tom Cruise’s carrier where he takes on such a cheesy role. 

“I bet you know it by heart.” He smirks.

“Shut up. Tom just came on screen.” 

“‘Tom?’”

“You heard what I said.”

“Have you ever met him? If you haven’t then you can’t be on a first-name basis with him.”

He knows damn well I haven’t met Tom Cruise. Deciding to let him suffer in my silence, and thoroughly annoyed he was beginning to talk over Tom’s lines, I watch the screen before us. 

Kazuomi suddenly gets up - groaning as he does so - nearly letting me fall. Stripped from his comforting heat, I felt the numbing coolness of the room, tiny goosebumps littering my arms.

“What?” I ask, looking at him now standing in front of me, holding out one hand. 

“M’lady. Care to dance with me?” He asks, gazing tenderly at me. He’s a couple lines behind Tom. He’s trying to follow the script. 

“I’d be honored.” I say, failing to fight the smile tugging at my lips. I reach out and place my hand in his, grateful to be feeling the warmth of his palm. Gently pulling me to my feet, he wraps his free arm around my waist, pulling me close. 

“You look….stunning.” His arms are around me, we’re close. Nearly eye to eye. I’ve seen this scene so many times I know the choreography by heart - and what we’re doing now isn’t part of the choreography. 

Kazuomi’s pulling a different kind of dance right now. A waltz. 

Does he think I can’t keep up with him? I’m an agent - I have to be prepared for every situation, remember?

He smirks a bit - the bastard. 

“You’re not so bad yourself.” I reply, with that same smirk smudging his otherwise perfect face. 

All the same, I’m truly grateful for this moment. 

            Kazuomi may be a cunning, arrogant, charismatic, dangerous idiot most of the time, but he’s also soft, gentle, and adorable. It’s evident in this very moment - 

            Just now, he let me sleep when he knew I was exhausted, letting me use him as my pillow, and wrapping his arms around me - tight enough to protect me against anything in the world; he supported me and kept me warm when I sat up; he’s watching this movie with me because he knows my favorite actor is in it; his touch around my waist is excruciatingly tender, and he’s got a warm, glowing look in his eyes - it’s like I’m all he sees right now and I’m all he’ll ever see. 

“I’ll be your Tom Cruise.” He whispers, his voice soft. Saying this at a barely audible level, as if saying it any louder would soil its purpose - evidently, sealing the promise’s failure, securing my fate. A blind little wish. A wish I could never have - and that’s okay. Because if I had to choose between having Tom Cruise and Kazuomi Shido...I’d pick Kazuomi a thousand times over. 

“But you’re already my target.” Hoping he gets the meaning behind those words, I stare him right back in the eye, doing my best to show him I genuinely mean it.

“There’s nobody else I’d rather have on my case.” I had thought it was impossible for his eyes to get any softer, for him to look any cuter, for my love for him to exceed that belonging to Tom Cruise - yet here we are. And here I hope we’ll stay here forever. 

            There we sway, softly, side-to-side, holding each other, and looking into one another’s eyes - in the dead of night, tucked away in Raven Resort Tokyo, inside Kazuomi’s living room. Benevolently dancing to the song playing in the movie, illuminated by its soft golden and blue hues, whispering promises back and forth, stretching this fleeting moment of serenity and pure love for as long as we dare to hope.