Eden

Yuji having a rough day and you save him the last bite of something you know he loves and he cries from the love

"Why are you crying?"

stroking their hair or rubbing their back

reminding them how strong they are

Today has not been Yuji’s day, and that’s an understatement. First he woke up too late and missed half of his first period, he also stubbed his toe trying to get ready as fast as possible. Then during training he pulled a muscle after trying a new exercise. At lunch he accidentally spilled his food all over him. He wouldn't even care about these things usually but hearing Sukuna laughing and bullying him in the back of his head made it ten times worse. The only thing that kept him from not crashing out was you. Your smile and comfort helped him a lot, especially these types of days. The way you reassured him and always seemed to know when he needed it the most is one of many things he loves about you. You can always read his mind.

It’s currently 9pm and Yuji still hasn’t finished his mission. Him and Panda were sent out for a mission at an old hospital to help train their hand to hand combat. They started at 7pm and they still have two more curses to exorcise before they’re done. Panda took the one that’s running around the lower floors while Yuji took the higher floors. Yuji is fighting with all the energy left in his body, but the curse just seems to get more and more powerful. Like it’s feeding off of Yuji and taking all his energy. The worst part is having Sukuna in his head, bullying him

“You really are a terrible sorcerer”

“Just stop, this isn’t a battle you can win”

“Can you hit it? or are you trying to dance with it?”

“Let the grown ups handle this, you are clearly not ready”

“How can you not dodge the attacks? are you trying to get hit?”

His words make everything so much worse. The combination of Sukuna’s bullying and the curse getting stronger makes Yuji let his guard down and the curse hits him good. Yuji gets hit in the face and flies across the corridor. His head aches as he tries to stand up but the curse is already sprinting to him. Just as the curse is about to hit him once again, Panda comes out of nowhere and hits it. Yuji lets out a sign of relief. The room is spinning and his head hurts so bad.

“Itadori! what the hell happened?” Panda screams, while running towards him.

“Shit—sorry” is all Yuji can grunt out, he rubs his head with his hands while trying to stay balanced. He tries to take a step forward but loses balance, Panda quickly steps forward and catches him.

“Dude, I think you might have a concussion… or worse. Let's get you to Shoko before you pass out”

When the two guys finally made it back, Yuji went straight to Shoko. She used her reverse technique to heal his head injury. Yuji picked up his phone and saw that you had sent him a bunch of texts and tried calling him. ‘God, you must be so worried’ he thinks to himself. When Shoko is done, Yuji practically jumps out of the chair and jogs back to your dorm. He knocks before entering. When he enters you are sitting by your desk doing homework, but when you hear Yuji you immediately turn around

“Omg Yuji! I was worried sick—what the hell happened and why are you covered in wounds?” Your concern for him makes Yuji want to cry, you were the only one today that seemed to actually care about him and his well being.

“Sorry… something went wrong during the mission and I got hurt” you immediately go to hug him, Yuji wraps his arms around you and rests his head on your shoulder. You rub his back and sway side to side to try and calm him down.

“We don’t have to talk about your day since I can tell it wasn’t a good one, however I made you something while waiting for you to come back” Yuji’s head comes up from your shoulder and he looks at you surprised. You give him a warm smile before going to your mini refrigerator and pulling out a small box. You hand him the box and he opens it, inside is a piece of cake.

“I made a cake for you, then Nobora and Toge ate like all of it—but I was able to save you the last piece!” Yuji looks at the cake with a big smile

Yuji having a rough day and you save him the last bite of something you know he loves and he cries from the love

"Why are you crying?"

stroking their hair or rubbing their back

reminding them how strong they are

Today has not been Yuji’s day, and that’s an understatement. First he woke up too late and missed half of his first period, he also stubbed his toe trying to get ready as fast as possible. Then during training he pulled a muscle after trying a new exercise. At lunch he accidentally spilled his food all over him. He wouldn't even care about these things usually but hearing Sukuna laughing and bullying him in the back of his head made it ten times worse. The only thing that kept him from not crashing out was you. Your smile and comfort helped him a lot, especially these types of days. The way you reassured him and always seemed to know when he needed it the most is one of many things he loves about you. You can always read his mind.

It’s currently 9pm and Yuji still hasn’t finished his mission. Him and Panda were sent out for a mission at an old hospital to help train their hand to hand combat. They started at 7pm and they still have two more curses to exorcise before they’re done. Panda took the one that’s running around the lower floors while Yuji took the higher floors. Yuji is fighting with all the energy left in his body, but the curse just seems to get more and more powerful. Like it’s feeding off of Yuji and taking all his energy. The worst part is having Sukuna in his head, bullying him

“You really are a terrible sorcerer”

“Just stop, this isn’t a battle you can win”

“Can you hit it? or are you trying to dance with it?”

“Let the grown ups handle this, you are clearly not ready”

“How can you not dodge the attacks? are you trying to get hit?”

His words make everything so much worse. The combination of Sukuna’s bullying and the curse getting stronger makes Yuji let his guard down and the curse hits him good. Yuji gets hit in the face and flies across the corridor. His head aches as he tries to stand up but the curse is already sprinting to him. Just as the curse is about to hit him once again, Panda comes out of nowhere and hits it. Yuji lets out a sign of relief. The room is spinning and his head hurts so bad.

“Itadori! what the hell happened?” Panda screams, while running towards him.

“Shit—sorry” is all Yuji can grunt out, he rubs his head with his hands while trying to stay balanced. He tries to take a step forward but loses balance, Panda quickly steps forward and catches him.

“Dude, I think you might have a concussion… or worse. Let's get you to Shoko before you pass out”

When the two guys finally made it back, Yuji went straight to Shoko. She used her reverse technique to heal his head injury. Yuji picked up his phone and saw that you had sent him a bunch of texts and tried calling him. ‘God, you must be so worried’ he thinks to himself. When Shoko is done, Yuji practically jumps out of the chair and jogs back to your dorm. He knocks before entering. When he enters you are sitting by your desk doing homework, but when you hear Yuji you immediately turn around

“Omg Yuji! I was worried sick—what the hell happened and why are you covered in wounds?” Your concern for him makes Yuji want to cry, you were the only one today that seemed to actually care about him and his well being.

“Sorry… something went wrong during the mission and I got hurt” you immediately go to hug him, Yuji wraps his arms around you and rests his head on your shoulder. You rub his back and sway side to side to try and calm him down.

“We don’t have to talk about your day since I can tell it wasn’t a good one, however I made you something while waiting for you to come back” Yuji’s head comes up from your shoulder and he looks at you surprised. You give him a warm smile before going to your mini refrigerator and pulling out a small box. You hand him the box and he opens it, inside is a piece of cake.

“I made a cake for you, then Nobora and Toge ate like all of it—but I was able to save you the last piece!” Yuji looks at the cake with a big smile

“Higuruma, when are you going to start dating? You’re almost 30 and you don’t even have a girlfriend!” Hiromi’s colleague said as he wrapped his arm around his shoulder. Hiromi signed, annoyed by his colleagues saying the same sentence every day. It was Friday night, Hiromi and his colleagues had just won a case and decided to go out drinking as a celebration.

“I just haven’t found the right person yet…” Hiromi grumbled in response, taking a sip of his beer. The truth is, Hiromi has never been in love. He’s ashamed to admit it. How could he go almost 30 years without falling in love? He hadn't even held hands with someone. He spent all his youth studying, getting the perfect grades so he could become a lawyer. The worst part is, Hiromi missed out on a lot during his youth. He has never been at a concert or gone to parties. He was always alone, in his room, studying for his next test. He thinks a lot about his childhood and how much fun he had when he was playing with his friends after school, how they would go on their bikes and ride together for hours.

When the time hits midnight, they all decide it’s time to go home. Hiromi says goodbye to everyone before getting a taxi home.

On Monday morning Hiromi goes to work as usual. His boss shows him a new case he will be working on. Hiromi immediately starts reading through the paperwork and goes to meet with the client. The client is a man in his 30s that was seen driving past multiple red lights and stop signs. It’s not the best case or most fun since the cops have all the evidence to prove he did it, but Hiromi wants to hear the client's side of the story and try his best to defend him in court. As they are talking, Hiromi gets the client’s side of the story and knows how to defend him in court. He tells the client exactly what to say and not to say so that the court will be on their side. Hiromi makes a plan, gets the evidence he needs and says goodbye to the guy.

The next morning Hiromi goes to court. He feels confident knowing he prepared his speech and defence all night. As he’s walking into court, he looks around like usual. The family of his client is sitting there surrounded by curious citizens, the usual crowd. He sits down on the table and looks up to see who the prosecutor is, by this point Hiromi has already met most prosecutors so he knows how they work. When he looks up, he’s stunned. You, a young woman who he’s never seen before is sitting there with a binder open, reading about the case. Hiromi feels his heart skip a beat. He had never seen someone so beautiful before. When you look up at him, he feels like the world stopped for a moment. He starts to feel his face get warmer, what is this feeling? And why can’t he take his eyes off you? He tries to get his attention back to the case but all he can think about is you, who are you and why can’t he think straight?.

The court starts and he defends his client just like he practiced the night before, the judge seems to be on Hiromi’s side, until you stand up and begin talking

“Your honor, the defendant was seen speeding and driving through stop signs as well as red lights. We are very lucky he didn’t take a life, or multiple lives that night. We have evidence of him driving recklessly and in my opinion, no matter what the circumstances were, laws should not be broken. The way he was driving made other drivers have to break laws and that itself is dangerous. He is very lucky the other drivers on the road that night had good reaction time to not crash into him, but if they hadn’t been, we could have lost innocent lives that night. I think he deserves at the very least a suspended license and 6 months in prison to reflect what he has done, your honor” Hiromi’s head is too focused on you to even register what you're saying and before he can say anything, the judge says he has reached a verdict. You sit down, relaxed, like you already know the judge is going to agree with you. You look over at Hiromi who can’t keep his eyes off you, a smirk on your lips only he can see. He feels his palms sweating and his heart racing, did you put a spell on him?

The judge stand up to announce that his client will have his license suspended for 5 years and be in jail for 2 months. The client tries to beg Hiromi for help but Hiromi knows he can’t do anything.

“I’m sorry but this is the best I can do” he says to his client who was now in tears. Hiromi watches the guards take the client away and starts packing up.

“I haven’t seen you before, you new here?” Hiromi looks up and sees you, standing right in front of him

“Uhm n-no… I started a year ago” Hiromi responds, nervous over how close you’re standing.

“Oh, okay… well I guess I’ll see you around then, my name is y/n l/n by the way” a soft smile on your face as you speak.

“I-I’m Hiromi- Hiromi Higuruma” he stutters back quickly. You let out a soft chuckle at his nervousness before giving him a quick bow and leaving. Hiromi stands there, frozen in place, looking at you as you walk away.

Hiromi walks home afterwards, still thinking about you. How you seemed so kind yet so confident and professional. Your beautiful hair and soft eyes. Why did he stutter all of the sudden? He never stutters… and why did he feel like he got a fever out of nowhere? Why was he thinking about you so much? All these things circle around his mind the entire night. That night when he got to bed, he couldn’t sleep. He kept replaying your interaction over and over again. Was he falling in love?

When he got to the office the next day he was more tired than usual, his colleagues noticed and asked if he was okay, but Hiromi just kept brushing them off. He got assigned a new case and went to have lunch with the client. The client had been suspected of vandalism but was released since the cops didn’t have enough evidence on him. After talking with the client he headed back to the office to start working on the case. During the afternoon he got a call from his supervisor, the prosecutor wanted to talk about a possible settlement. He agreed and walked to their office for the meeting. He walked into the building and asked the receptionist where to go, and she walked him to the meeting room. He knocked and walked in.

“Higuruma! pleasure seeing you again” Hiromi stopped in his tracks and sees you sitting there, smiling at him. You were the last person he wanted to see after spending the entire night thinking about you. He takes a deep breath to try and clear his head before walking to his seat

“I-It’s great seeing you too… l/n” he responds before sitting down, too scared to make eye contact with you. ‘Don’t make eye contact’ ‘what if she can read your mind and finds out you have been thinking about her’ he repeated in his head.

“Is your client coming soon?” you ask him

“Uhh… y-yeah he should be here soon” he responds, trying to make eye contact but fails miserably. You nod at him, a soft smile flickers before you turn to the window, looking at the traffic outside. Hiromi feels his face become redder by every second. He takes his tie and loosen it a bit, trying to stay professional. The client comes in a few moments later and Hiromi is fascinated by your confidence. The way you use your movements deliberately, your shin slightly raised, having direct eye contact with the client and your posture is upright. How could you be so calm and relaxed one moment, and so confident the next?

“The city has sent you here today because they want to settle this outside the court. The city has sued you for 300,000 yen and we can come up with a plan for your payment in case you can’t pay cash upfront” you speak with authority, like you are the boss here. Hiromi doesn’t want to let you take control here since it is still his job to help his client and make sure they get the least amount of punishment possible. He also has to make sure you know he’s professional and doesn’t stammer every time he speaks to someone.

“Why 300,000 yen?” he says firmly. You look at him, a little surprised by his tone

“Because vandalism is usually fined with 300,00 yen an-“ Hiromi cuts you off before you can continue

“He hasn’t done anything, you have no proof he did anything so why punish him?” He asks as he crosses his arms, his face emotionless. You take a deep breath to keep your professionalism from slipping before answering

“The city is suing him because he refuses to cooperate with the police. He was seen at the location of the crime by 5 citizens. If it wasn’t him and he did see who it was, then I don’t understand why he won’t cooperate? Why not just tell authorities who it was if it wasn’t you?” you respond to Hiromi with genuine curiosity. You turn to the client

“If you don’t come clean about who it was then you will have to pay the fine, or we take it to court where you might end up with a prison sentence” you say as you look him directly in the eyes. You want to make sure both Hiromi and his client knows how serious this is and how serious the city is about it too. Hiromi looks at his client who now seem more anxious than before

“It’s your choice, unfortunately it would be pointless to argue about it since that would lead to court and as ms l/n said, it could lead to a worse outcome” the client looks between Hiromi and you before agreeing to pay the fine. You shake hands before he’s escorted out by the receptionist. Now it’s just Hiromi and you alone again

“I think that went pretty well” your voice breaking the silence, trying to start conversation

“Yeah, I guess” Hiromi responds, letting out a sigh and leaning back against the chair. Your eyes still on him

“Can I ask you something?” Hiromi’s eyes spark of curiosity as they meet yours again, he nods and you continue

“Do you have a lot of friends? I find it very hard to make friends in this industry, especially being the only girl in my department” his eyebrows raised by your question. He finds the question odd but looking at your face he can tell you feel sad or upset by it, so he answers respectfully

“Honestly, I don’t have a lot of friends. I don’t even know if I’d call my colleagues friends since they don’t seem to actually know me or care about me. After a whole year in this industry, I can confirm it’s very hard to find friends since most people don’t have the time. The younger ones spend all their time trying to show off to their bosses and the older ones have families to take care off” he answers genuinely, with a relaxed tone. You nod, grateful for his honesty

“Glad to know I’m not the only one without friends” you say with a soft chuckle, Hiromi lets out a chuckle as well. You two stay quiet for a moment before you speak again

“Wanna be friends?” you ask, a soft smile on your lips. Hiromi’s eyes widened by your sudden question

“Su-sure” he reply quickly before it even registered in his mind

“Great! Here is my number and maybe we can meet up this weekend to do something?” you have a real smile on your face now, one that makes Hiromi’s heart start beating faster

“Okay!” Hiromi says, thinking about how pretty your smile was and hoped he got to see it more often. Hiromi goes back to the office and works on his next few cases, however he’s having trouble focusing on them because all he can think about is you and your smile. That smile made the entire room feel so much brighter.

After working on his cases he finally heads home. Hiromi takes a shower and puts some comfortable clothes on, after a long day he finally gets to lay in bed. He goes on his phone and gets a message, it’s from you. ‘You did great today :)’ it says, Hiromi doesn’t know how to respond so he just quickly sends a ‘thanks!’ back to you. Why did he have to be so awkward? Why can’t he think straight when you’re in the room?

The next few days go by fast, he hasn’t seen you since Tuesday, now it’s finally Friday. You two have texted each other, mostly you, asking random questions or talking about your day. Hiromi has enjoyed it a lot. You are funny, smart, beautiful and kind. The perfect girl. He has quickly fallen in love with you and it freaks him out. How could you make him fall in love? After all these years of trying to find someone, you somehow managed to unlock his heart. The worst part is, Hiromi doesn’t know what to do. How does he tell you how he feels without being awkward, or what if you don’t like him back? He knows he can’t ask his coworkers about it either since they would make a big deal out of it and probably wouldn’t know how to handle this situation. As he’s sitting in his office, thinking about what to do, a notification from you pops up ‘wanna go see a movie this weekend?’. He sits there, thinking about how to respond. Of course he wanted to spend time with you!, but he didn’t know how to do it without being so awkward. ‘Sure!’ Hiromi finally responded back. This is going to be a long night…

It’s finally Saturday, the day Hiromi can sit in his apartment, drink coffee on his balcony without stress and enjoy sleeping in. After drinking his coffee and reading the newspaper, he remembers the movie. He immediately goes to his closet since he usually just picked a suit and barely looked at what he actually owned. He opens the closet and only sees a bunch of suits. After throwing out his entire closet on the floor, trying to find something casual, Hiromi stands there in shock. How could he not own anything other than suits and his few pairs of pajamas?. The only comfortable clothes he owned was the 5 year old shirt and stained sweatpants he was wearing. He never really needed anything other than suits since they were needed for work and during the weekend he just wore his pajamas all day since he didn’t really do much. Great, now I have to buy a whole new outfit just to sit in a dark room the entire time. He puts on dress pants and a white button up shirt and heads out to buy some clothes. As he’s walking he thinks about how he managed to end up like this. A boring guy that only owns suits and has no social life outside of work. This is the first time since high school he’s actually doing something in his free time, doing something fun. If you two are going to be friends then that means he’s going to need a lot more outfits. He walks store to store and eventually finds a few good pieces. A few shirts, some jeans and a new pair of sneakers, he hasn’t owned sneakers since freshman year of college. Hiromi walks back to his apartment after spending 2 hours shopping. ‘Hey! There is a new movie out, wanna see it with me?’ Hiromi reads your message and wants to say no, this guy just spent all his energy trying to find clothes and today was supposed to be the day he just chills at home. After thinking for a few minutes he comes to the conclusion that if he wants to have friends then that means he’s going to have to sacrifice his weekends. ‘Sounds great! Text me the time and I’ll be there’.

It’s now 8pm and Hiromi has just arrived at the cinema. The movie doesn’t start until 8.30 but Hiromi is a very punctual guy and always makes sure to be early. He waits outside until you show up 15 minutes later. You wore a cute but comfy outfit. What shocked Hiromi more was the fact that you look even more beautiful like this, a casual outfit, your hair not done. How could he be even more attracted to you like this than at work?

“Wow Higuruma, didn’t think you owned anything other than suits” you say with a giggle. How did you know?

“W-well I had to dig them up from the depths of my closet” he responds with a nervous laugh. You immediately blush hearing his laugh. Hiromi doesn’t notice it since he’s too busy looking at everything else. You walk into the cinema and Hiromi follows you around. He hasn’t been to the cinema in a decade. You get the tickets and walk to the theater. Hiromi didn’t even know what movie you were watching, he just let you take control over the whole thing.

“This movie is a rom-con and it’s supposed to be amazing!” you tell him, with a mouthful of popcorn in your hand. Hiromi just smiles, the way your eyes light up from excitement makes Hiromi melt. The movie starts and Hiromi has a hard time focusing on the screen when he can feel his shoulder pressing against yours and he smells your perfume. This feels more intimate than he expected. He doesn’t realize it but his eyes keep wandering back to you. Every time something happens he glances at you, your reactions are just too adorable.

“Are you not liking the movie?” your voice makes him freeze. He looks at you like a deer in headlights. You giggle at his expression, which makes Hiromi calm down a little.

“Sorry… I just haven’t been to a cinema in years so it’s kind of a new experience for me” he softly chuckled as he spoke. Your expression turns sad as you hear him talk.

“Oh, I’m sorry… well since we’re friends now that means we can do things like this!” your words make Hiromi smile, you have such a kind heart.

“Thank you, I needed this outing more than you know” he said, you smile at him

“Anytime” you respond, looking him in the eyes. You feel a blush start creeping up on your face so you quickly turn back to the screen, not wanting him to see it.

As the movie ends you and Hiromi go outside, it’s colder and darker now. You feel the cold wind hitting you, making your hair blow in your face. Hiromi notices and quickly helps you fix your hair. You looked up at him, the other times you had seen him, his eyes seemed dark and deep as midnight, tired and half-lidded. Now as you look up at him you see autumn brown eyes with tiny pupils that give him a quiet, attentive intensity as he focuses on fixing your hair. His fingers are gentle but steady as he tries to make your hair look like it did before. When he feels satisfied with his work he looks down at you, putting a piece of hair behind your ear as he looks you in the eyes with admiration. You feel your heart rate rising every second. How was he so effortlessly hot?

“I had a great time today” he softly said, a small smile on his lips. You smile at him, that warm, genuine smile he loved

“Thank you for being here, I will make sure to pick a better movie next time” you softly laugh as you spoke, making Hiromi chuckle. His smile reached his eyes for the first time all night.

“Why don’t we go do something else this week?” Hiromi looks at you, his eyes wide and filled with excitement. You laugh at his sudden relaxed and friendly manner. He didn’t feel like the awkward and boring lawyer you had met before, and it made you happy knowing he finally felt comfortable being relaxed with you.

“I’d love that!” you responded with excitement. Hiromi smiles before saying goodbye and going home. As he walks home, Hiromi feels genuinely happy for the first time in long. He hasn’t been this excited about anything since he hung out with his friends in high school.

The two of you text each other everyday, sometimes it’s about work and cases, sometimes it’s just random little things like sending a picture of a cute cat you saw.

“Why are you in such a good mood?” Hiromi looks up from his phone, his coworkers are standing around his desk and looking at him with curiosity.

“Oh… it’s nothing!” Hiromi responds with a quiet laugh, scratching his neck and blushing at the sudden attention. His co worker smirks

“You met someone, hm?” Hiromi’s face drops and before he can even argue his coworkers go back to their desks with knowing smiles. Is he really being that obvious? What if that means you know he likes you too and think it’s weird? Hiromi’s thoughts are interrupted by a text from you. ‘What if we go to that aquarium that just opened? :)’. Hiromi smiles and quickly responds, ‘sounds fun! wanna go tonight?’. He doesn’t even care that it’s a Wednesday, he just wants to see you again. Perhaps seeing you again will make him finally confess his feelings…

The day is finally over and Hiromi quickly packs up before going to see you. You rush to the aquarium just as fast, you really wanted to see him again. As Hiromi arrives he notices you rushing over, he’s happy knowing you seem to be just as excited as him.

“You excited?” Hiromi says with a grin, you playfully slap his arm, trying to look angry but failing.

“Can we please just go in?! I wanna see the paracanthurus fish!” Hiromi laughs at your answer.

“What the hell is that? Some type of dinosaur?” You roll your eyes and sign at Hiromi’s response, which makes him giggle.

“No?! It’s the Dory fish, from finding Nemo!” He looks at you with an eyebrow raised before laughing again.

“Alright that’s enough of you making fun of me, I’m going inside!” you say, walking inside. You go to pay for your ticket but before you can even pick up your card, Hiromi taps his on the reader.

“Why did you pay for me?…” you ask, confused by his kind gesture.

“Well it’s the least I could do after making fun of you” he responds with a smirk. You say a quick thank you before running into the entrance. Neither you or Hiromi had changed out of your work clothes before coming and now you realized how weird it looked. Two adults, dressed in fancy suits, walking around an aquarium filled with children. After looking at Hiromi, eyes wider and bright than usual, you didn’t care about it since it wasn’t other people’s business. If Hiromi and you were happy, nothing mattered.

“Y/n, Look at these ones!” your thoughts are interrupted by Hiromi, you turn to look and see him pointing to some jellyfish. You walk over and look at their beautiful colors lighting up the clear blue water. Turning your head, you see Hiromi looking at them, his eyes reminding you of a golden retriever puppy that just got a new toy. After discussing and looking at jellyfish for a few minutes you two continue walking around, admiring the different types of fishes in the tanks. Truth be told, you had a hard time focusing on the fish when your new friend (and secret admirer) had puppy eyes the entire time. He looked so cute right now and he had no idea. You had liked him from the moment you met him, he was handsome, smart and cute. But the thought of getting rejected pushed you into this “friend zone” with him, at least you get to be friends with him, not just rejected and then never being able to speak to him again. This “date” is really testing you, all you want to do is ask him, ask if he feels the same way, to take you out on a date. What’s stopping you?

After exploring the aquarium it’s time to go home. You walk out the exit and stand there for a minute.

“I had a really good time today” he says, breaking the silence. You look at him, this is the perfect moment to confess.

“Hiromi… I need to tell you something” you say, voice shaking a little bit from the nerves. Hiromi gets nervous by your tone. You take a deep breath before continuing

“I like you, a lot… more than as a friend” your eyelashes lower and a blush creeps up on your cheeks. Hiromi looks at you, eyes wide from your confession. Was he dreaming? Did you like him the same way he liked you?

“Y-you… like me?” he asks with shock. You smile at him and look in his eyes

“Yeah, a lot” you respond, softly chuckling. You turn to the side from feeling so vulnerable and shy under his gaze. You look like an angel in this lighting and you just confessed to him? How could someone be so beautiful?

“I have never felt like this before— but I like you too, a lot! I wanted to confess a long time ago but I was scared since I’ve never liked anyone like this before and didn’t want to mess it up… could I please take you on a date?” Hiromi says in one breath. You turn back to him and your eyes meet. The way your eyes sparkle at his confession makes Hiromi melt.

“I’d love that” you respond, making Hiromi smile. You hug him, thinking it was going to be a quick one since he didn’t like physical touch, but you were happily surprised when he didn’t let go of you. The scene looks straight out of a movie, you two hugging under the moonlight. Hiromi finally lets go of you and look you in the eyes with admiration.

“You did something nobody thought was possible…” you look at him with a little confusion

“Really… and what’s that?” Hiromi smiles at you

“Higuruma, when are you going to start dating? You’re almost 30 and you don’t even have a girlfriend!” Hiromi’s colleague said as he wrapped his arm around his shoulder. Hiromi signed, annoyed by his colleagues saying the same sentence every day. It was Friday night, Hiromi and his colleagues had just won a case and decided to go out drinking as a celebration.

“I just haven’t found the right person yet…” Hiromi grumbled in response, taking a sip of his beer. The truth is, Hiromi has never been in love. He’s ashamed to admit it. How could he go almost 30 years without falling in love? He hadn't even held hands with someone. He spent all his youth studying, getting the perfect grades so he could become a lawyer. The worst part is, Hiromi missed out on a lot during his youth. He has never been at a concert or gone to parties. He was always alone, in his room, studying for his next test. He thinks a lot about his childhood and how much fun he had when he was playing with his friends after school, how they would go on their bikes and ride together for hours.

When the time hits midnight, they all decide it’s time to go home. Hiromi says goodbye to everyone before getting a taxi home.

On Monday morning Hiromi goes to work as usual. His boss shows him a new case he will be working on. Hiromi immediately starts reading through the paperwork and goes to meet with the client. The client is a man in his 30s that was seen driving past multiple red lights and stop signs. It’s not the best case or most fun since the cops have all the evidence to prove he did it, but Hiromi wants to hear the client's side of the story and try his best to defend him in court. As they are talking, Hiromi gets the client’s side of the story and knows how to defend him in court. He tells the client exactly what to say and not to say so that the court will be on their side. Hiromi makes a plan, gets the evidence he needs and says goodbye to the guy.

The next morning Hiromi goes to court. He feels confident knowing he prepared his speech and defence all night. As he’s walking into court, he looks around like usual. The family of his client is sitting there surrounded by curious citizens, the usual crowd. He sits down on the table and looks up to see who the prosecutor is, by this point Hiromi has already met most prosecutors so he knows how they work. When he looks up, he’s stunned. You, a young woman who he’s never seen before is sitting there with a binder open, reading about the case. Hiromi feels his heart skip a beat. He had never seen someone so beautiful before. When you look up at him, he feels like the world stopped for a moment. He starts to feel his face get warmer, what is this feeling? And why can’t he take his eyes off you? He tries to get his attention back to the case but all he can think about is you, who are you and why can’t he think straight?.

The court starts and he defends his client just like he practiced the night before, the judge seems to be on Hiromi’s side, until you stand up and begin talking

“Your honor, the defendant was seen speeding and driving through stop signs as well as red lights. We are very lucky he didn’t take a life, or multiple lives that night. We have evidence of him driving recklessly and in my opinion, no matter what the circumstances were, laws should not be broken. The way he was driving made other drivers have to break laws and that itself is dangerous. He is very lucky the other drivers on the road that night had good reaction time to not crash into him, but if they hadn’t been, we could have lost innocent lives that night. I think he deserves at the very least a suspended license and 6 months in prison to reflect what he has done, your honor” Hiromi’s head is too focused on you to even register what you're saying and before he can say anything, the judge says he has reached a verdict. You sit down, relaxed, like you already know the judge is going to agree with you. You look over at Hiromi who can’t keep his eyes off you, a smirk on your lips only he can see. He feels his palms sweating and his heart racing, did you put a spell on him?

The judge stand up to announce that his client will have his license suspended for 5 years and be in jail for 2 months. The client tries to beg Hiromi for help but Hiromi knows he can’t do anything.

“I’m sorry but this is the best I can do” he says to his client who was now in tears. Hiromi watches the guards take the client away and starts packing up.

“I haven’t seen you before, you new here?” Hiromi looks up and sees you, standing right in front of him

“Uhm n-no… I started a year ago” Hiromi responds, nervous over how close you’re standing.

“Oh, okay… well I guess I’ll see you around then, my name is y/n l/n by the way” a soft smile on your face as you speak.

“I-I’m Hiromi- Hiromi Higuruma” he stutters back quickly. You let out a soft chuckle at his nervousness before giving him a quick bow and leaving. Hiromi stands there, frozen in place, looking at you as you walk away.

Hiromi walks home afterwards, still thinking about you. How you seemed so kind yet so confident and professional. Your beautiful hair and soft eyes. Why did he stutter all of the sudden? He never stutters… and why did he feel like he got a fever out of nowhere? Why was he thinking about you so much? All these things circle around his mind the entire night. That night when he got to bed, he couldn’t sleep. He kept replaying your interaction over and over again. Was he falling in love?

When he got to the office the next day he was more tired than usual, his colleagues noticed and asked if he was okay, but Hiromi just kept brushing them off. He got assigned a new case and went to have lunch with the client. The client had been suspected of vandalism but was released since the cops didn’t have enough evidence on him. After talking with the client he headed back to the office to start working on the case. During the afternoon he got a call from his supervisor, the prosecutor wanted to talk about a possible settlement. He agreed and walked to their office for the meeting. He walked into the building and asked the receptionist where to go, and she walked him to the meeting room. He knocked and walked in.

“Higuruma! pleasure seeing you again” Hiromi stopped in his tracks and sees you sitting there, smiling at him. You were the last person he wanted to see after spending the entire night thinking about you. He takes a deep breath to try and clear his head before walking to his seat

“I-It’s great seeing you too… l/n” he responds before sitting down, too scared to make eye contact with you. ‘Don’t make eye contact’ ‘what if she can read your mind and finds out you have been thinking about her’ he repeated in his head.

“Is your client coming soon?” you ask him

“Uhh… y-yeah he should be here soon” he responds, trying to make eye contact but fails miserably. You nod at him, a soft smile flickers before you turn to the window, looking at the traffic outside. Hiromi feels his face become redder by every second. He takes his tie and loosen it a bit, trying to stay professional. The client comes in a few moments later and Hiromi is fascinated by your confidence. The way you use your movements deliberately, your shin slightly raised, having direct eye contact with the client and your posture is upright. How could you be so calm and relaxed one moment, and so confident the next?

“The city has sent you here today because they want to settle this outside the court. The city has sued you for 300,000 yen and we can come up with a plan for your payment in case you can’t pay cash upfront” you speak with authority, like you are the boss here. Hiromi doesn’t want to let you take control here since it is still his job to help his client and make sure they get the least amount of punishment possible. He also has to make sure you know he’s professional and doesn’t stammer every time he speaks to someone.

“Why 300,000 yen?” he says firmly. You look at him, a little surprised by his tone

“Because vandalism is usually fined with 300,00 yen an-“ Hiromi cuts you off before you can continue

“He hasn’t done anything, you have no proof he did anything so why punish him?” He asks as he crosses his arms, his face emotionless. You take a deep breath to keep your professionalism from slipping before answering

“The city is suing him because he refuses to cooperate with the police. He was seen at the location of the crime by 5 citizens. If it wasn’t him and he did see who it was, then I don’t understand why he won’t cooperate? Why not just tell authorities who it was if it wasn’t you?” you respond to Hiromi with genuine curiosity. You turn to the client

“If you don’t come clean about who it was then you will have to pay the fine, or we take it to court where you might end up with a prison sentence” you say as you look him directly in the eyes. You want to make sure both Hiromi and his client knows how serious this is and how serious the city is about it too. Hiromi looks at his client who now seem more anxious than before

“It’s your choice, unfortunately it would be pointless to argue about it since that would lead to court and as ms l/n said, it could lead to a worse outcome” the client looks between Hiromi and you before agreeing to pay the fine. You shake hands before he’s escorted out by the receptionist. Now it’s just Hiromi and you alone again

“I think that went pretty well” your voice breaking the silence, trying to start conversation

“Yeah, I guess” Hiromi responds, letting out a sigh and leaning back against the chair. Your eyes still on him

“Can I ask you something?” Hiromi’s eyes spark of curiosity as they meet yours again, he nods and you continue

“Do you have a lot of friends? I find it very hard to make friends in this industry, especially being the only girl in my department” his eyebrows raised by your question. He finds the question odd but looking at your face he can tell you feel sad or upset by it, so he answers respectfully

“Honestly, I don’t have a lot of friends. I don’t even know if I’d call my colleagues friends since they don’t seem to actually know me or care about me. After a whole year in this industry, I can confirm it’s very hard to find friends since most people don’t have the time. The younger ones spend all their time trying to show off to their bosses and the older ones have families to take care off” he answers genuinely, with a relaxed tone. You nod, grateful for his honesty

“Glad to know I’m not the only one without friends” you say with a soft chuckle, Hiromi lets out a chuckle as well. You two stay quiet for a moment before you speak again

“Wanna be friends?” you ask, a soft smile on your lips. Hiromi’s eyes widened by your sudden question

“Su-sure” he reply quickly before it even registered in his mind

“Great! Here is my number and maybe we can meet up this weekend to do something?” you have a real smile on your face now, one that makes Hiromi’s heart start beating faster

“Okay!” Hiromi says, thinking about how pretty your smile was and hoped he got to see it more often. Hiromi goes back to the office and works on his next few cases, however he’s having trouble focusing on them because all he can think about is you and your smile. That smile made the entire room feel so much brighter.

After working on his cases he finally heads home. Hiromi takes a shower and puts some comfortable clothes on, after a long day he finally gets to lay in bed. He goes on his phone and gets a message, it’s from you. ‘You did great today :)’ it says, Hiromi doesn’t know how to respond so he just quickly sends a ‘thanks!’ back to you. Why did he have to be so awkward? Why can’t he think straight when you’re in the room?

The next few days go by fast, he hasn’t seen you since Tuesday, now it’s finally Friday. You two have texted each other, mostly you, asking random questions or talking about your day. Hiromi has enjoyed it a lot. You are funny, smart, beautiful and kind. The perfect girl. He has quickly fallen in love with you and it freaks him out. How could you make him fall in love? After all these years of trying to find someone, you somehow managed to unlock his heart. The worst part is, Hiromi doesn’t know what to do. How does he tell you how he feels without being awkward, or what if you don’t like him back? He knows he can’t ask his coworkers about it either since they would make a big deal out of it and probably wouldn’t know how to handle this situation. As he’s sitting in his office, thinking about what to do, a notification from you pops up ‘wanna go see a movie this weekend?’. He sits there, thinking about how to respond. Of course he wanted to spend time with you!, but he didn’t know how to do it without being so awkward. ‘Sure!’ Hiromi finally responded back. This is going to be a long night…

It’s finally Saturday, the day Hiromi can sit in his apartment, drink coffee on his balcony without stress and enjoy sleeping in. After drinking his coffee and reading the newspaper, he remembers the movie. He immediately goes to his closet since he usually just picked a suit and barely looked at what he actually owned. He opens the closet and only sees a bunch of suits. After throwing out his entire closet on the floor, trying to find something casual, Hiromi stands there in shock. How could he not own anything other than suits and his few pairs of pajamas?. The only comfortable clothes he owned was the 5 year old shirt and stained sweatpants he was wearing. He never really needed anything other than suits since they were needed for work and during the weekend he just wore his pajamas all day since he didn’t really do much. Great, now I have to buy a whole new outfit just to sit in a dark room the entire time. He puts on dress pants and a white button up shirt and heads out to buy some clothes. As he’s walking he thinks about how he managed to end up like this. A boring guy that only owns suits and has no social life outside of work. This is the first time since high school he’s actually doing something in his free time, doing something fun. If you two are going to be friends then that means he’s going to need a lot more outfits. He walks store to store and eventually finds a few good pieces. A few shirts, some jeans and a new pair of sneakers, he hasn’t owned sneakers since freshman year of college. Hiromi walks back to his apartment after spending 2 hours shopping. ‘Hey! There is a new movie out, wanna see it with me?’ Hiromi reads your message and wants to say no, this guy just spent all his energy trying to find clothes and today was supposed to be the day he just chills at home. After thinking for a few minutes he comes to the conclusion that if he wants to have friends then that means he’s going to have to sacrifice his weekends. ‘Sounds great! Text me the time and I’ll be there’.

It’s now 8pm and Hiromi has just arrived at the cinema. The movie doesn’t start until 8.30 but Hiromi is a very punctual guy and always makes sure to be early. He waits outside until you show up 15 minutes later. You wore a cute but comfy outfit. What shocked Hiromi more was the fact that you look even more beautiful like this, a casual outfit, your hair not done. How could he be even more attracted to you like this than at work?

“Wow Higuruma, didn’t think you owned anything other than suits” you say with a giggle. How did you know?

“W-well I had to dig them up from the depths of my closet” he responds with a nervous laugh. You immediately blush hearing his laugh. Hiromi doesn’t notice it since he’s too busy looking at everything else. You walk into the cinema and Hiromi follows you around. He hasn’t been to the cinema in a decade. You get the tickets and walk to the theater. Hiromi didn’t even know what movie you were watching, he just let you take control over the whole thing.

“This movie is a rom-con and it’s supposed to be amazing!” you tell him, with a mouthful of popcorn in your hand. Hiromi just smiles, the way your eyes light up from excitement makes Hiromi melt. The movie starts and Hiromi has a hard time focusing on the screen when he can feel his shoulder pressing against yours and he smells your perfume. This feels more intimate than he expected. He doesn’t realize it but his eyes keep wandering back to you. Every time something happens he glances at you, your reactions are just too adorable.

“Are you not liking the movie?” your voice makes him freeze. He looks at you like a deer in headlights. You giggle at his expression, which makes Hiromi calm down a little.

“Sorry… I just haven’t been to a cinema in years so it’s kind of a new experience for me” he softly chuckled as he spoke. Your expression turns sad as you hear him talk.

“Oh, I’m sorry… well since we’re friends now that means we can do things like this!” your words make Hiromi smile, you have such a kind heart.

“Thank you, I needed this outing more than you know” he said, you smile at him

“Anytime” you respond, looking him in the eyes. You feel a blush start creeping up on your face so you quickly turn back to the screen, not wanting him to see it.

As the movie ends you and Hiromi go outside, it’s colder and darker now. You feel the cold wind hitting you, making your hair blow in your face. Hiromi notices and quickly helps you fix your hair. You looked up at him, the other times you had seen him, his eyes seemed dark and deep as midnight, tired and half-lidded. Now as you look up at him you see autumn brown eyes with tiny pupils that give him a quiet, attentive intensity as he focuses on fixing your hair. His fingers are gentle but steady as he tries to make your hair look like it did before. When he feels satisfied with his work he looks down at you, putting a piece of hair behind your ear as he looks you in the eyes with admiration. You feel your heart rate rising every second. How was he so effortlessly hot?

“I had a great time today” he softly said, a small smile on his lips. You smile at him, that warm, genuine smile he loved

“Thank you for being here, I will make sure to pick a better movie next time” you softly laugh as you spoke, making Hiromi chuckle. His smile reached his eyes for the first time all night.

“Why don’t we go do something else this week?” Hiromi looks at you, his eyes wide and filled with excitement. You laugh at his sudden relaxed and friendly manner. He didn’t feel like the awkward and boring lawyer you had met before, and it made you happy knowing he finally felt comfortable being relaxed with you.

“I’d love that!” you responded with excitement. Hiromi smiles before saying goodbye and going home. As he walks home, Hiromi feels genuinely happy for the first time in long. He hasn’t been this excited about anything since he hung out with his friends in high school.

The two of you text each other everyday, sometimes it’s about work and cases, sometimes it’s just random little things like sending a picture of a cute cat you saw.

“Why are you in such a good mood?” Hiromi looks up from his phone, his coworkers are standing around his desk and looking at him with curiosity.

“Oh… it’s nothing!” Hiromi responds with a quiet laugh, scratching his neck and blushing at the sudden attention. His co worker smirks

“You met someone, hm?” Hiromi’s face drops and before he can even argue his coworkers go back to their desks with knowing smiles. Is he really being that obvious? What if that means you know he likes you too and think it’s weird? Hiromi’s thoughts are interrupted by a text from you. ‘What if we go to that aquarium that just opened? :)’. Hiromi smiles and quickly responds, ‘sounds fun! wanna go tonight?’. He doesn’t even care that it’s a Wednesday, he just wants to see you again. Perhaps seeing you again will make him finally confess his feelings…

The day is finally over and Hiromi quickly packs up before going to see you. You rush to the aquarium just as fast, you really wanted to see him again. As Hiromi arrives he notices you rushing over, he’s happy knowing you seem to be just as excited as him.

“You excited?” Hiromi says with a grin, you playfully slap his arm, trying to look angry but failing.

“Can we please just go in?! I wanna see the paracanthurus fish!” Hiromi laughs at your answer.

“What the hell is that? Some type of dinosaur?” You roll your eyes and sign at Hiromi’s response, which makes him giggle.

“No?! It’s the Dory fish, from finding Nemo!” He looks at you with an eyebrow raised before laughing again.

“Alright that’s enough of you making fun of me, I’m going inside!” you say, walking inside. You go to pay for your ticket but before you can even pick up your card, Hiromi taps his on the reader.

“Why did you pay for me?…” you ask, confused by his kind gesture.

“Well it’s the least I could do after making fun of you” he responds with a smirk. You say a quick thank you before running into the entrance. Neither you or Hiromi had changed out of your work clothes before coming and now you realized how weird it looked. Two adults, dressed in fancy suits, walking around an aquarium filled with children. After looking at Hiromi, eyes wider and bright than usual, you didn’t care about it since it wasn’t other people’s business. If Hiromi and you were happy, nothing mattered.

“Y/n, Look at these ones!” your thoughts are interrupted by Hiromi, you turn to look and see him pointing to some jellyfish. You walk over and look at their beautiful colors lighting up the clear blue water. Turning your head, you see Hiromi looking at them, his eyes reminding you of a golden retriever puppy that just got a new toy. After discussing and looking at jellyfish for a few minutes you two continue walking around, admiring the different types of fishes in the tanks. Truth be told, you had a hard time focusing on the fish when your new friend (and secret admirer) had puppy eyes the entire time. He looked so cute right now and he had no idea. You had liked him from the moment you met him, he was handsome, smart and cute. But the thought of getting rejected pushed you into this “friend zone” with him, at least you get to be friends with him, not just rejected and then never being able to speak to him again. This “date” is really testing you, all you want to do is ask him, ask if he feels the same way, to take you out on a date. What’s stopping you?

After exploring the aquarium it’s time to go home. You walk out the exit and stand there for a minute.

“I had a really good time today” he says, breaking the silence. You look at him, this is the perfect moment to confess.

“Hiromi… I need to tell you something” you say, voice shaking a little bit from the nerves. Hiromi gets nervous by your tone. You take a deep breath before continuing

“I like you, a lot… more than as a friend” your eyelashes lower and a blush creeps up on your cheeks. Hiromi looks at you, eyes wide from your confession. Was he dreaming? Did you like him the same way he liked you?

“Y-you… like me?” he asks with shock. You smile at him and look in his eyes

“Yeah, a lot” you respond, softly chuckling. You turn to the side from feeling so vulnerable and shy under his gaze. You look like an angel in this lighting and you just confessed to him? How could someone be so beautiful?

“I have never felt like this before— but I like you too, a lot! I wanted to confess a long time ago but I was scared since I’ve never liked anyone like this before and didn’t want to mess it up… could I please take you on a date?” Hiromi says in one breath. You turn back to him and your eyes meet. The way your eyes sparkle at his confession makes Hiromi melt.

“I’d love that” you respond, making Hiromi smile. You hug him, thinking it was going to be a quick one since he didn’t like physical touch, but you were happily surprised when he didn’t let go of you. The scene looks straight out of a movie, you two hugging under the moonlight. Hiromi finally lets go of you and look you in the eyes with admiration.

“You did something nobody thought was possible…” you look at him with a little confusion

“Really… and what’s that?” Hiromi smiles at you

“Higuruma, when are you going to start dating? You’re almost 30 and you don’t even have a girlfriend!” Hiromi’s colleague said as he wrapped his arm around his shoulder. Hiromi signed, annoyed by his colleagues saying the same sentence every day. It was Friday night, Hiromi and his colleagues had just won a case and decided to go out drinking as a celebration.

“I just haven’t found the right person yet…” Hiromi grumbled in response, taking a sip of his beer. The truth is, Hiromi has never been in love. He’s ashamed to admit it. How could he go almost 30 years without falling in love? He hadn't even held hands with someone. He spent all his youth studying, getting the perfect grades so he could become a lawyer. The worst part is, Hiromi missed out on a lot during his youth. He has never been at a concert or gone to parties. He was always alone, in his room, studying for his next test. He thinks a lot about his childhood and how much fun he had when he was playing with his friends after school, how they would go on their bikes and ride together for hours.

When the time hits midnight, they all decide it’s time to go home. Hiromi says goodbye to everyone before getting a taxi home.

On Monday morning Hiromi goes to work as usual. His boss shows him a new case he will be working on. Hiromi immediately starts reading through the paperwork and goes to meet with the client. The client is a man in his 30s that was seen driving past multiple red lights and stop signs. It’s not the best case or most fun since the cops have all the evidence to prove he did it, but Hiromi wants to hear the client's side of the story and try his best to defend him in court. As they are talking, Hiromi gets the client’s side of the story and knows how to defend him in court. He tells the client exactly what to say and not to say so that the court will be on their side. Hiromi makes a plan, gets the evidence he needs and says goodbye to the guy.

The next morning Hiromi goes to court. He feels confident knowing he prepared his speech and defence all night. As he’s walking into court, he looks around like usual. The family of his client is sitting there surrounded by curious citizens, the usual crowd. He sits down on the table and looks up to see who the prosecutor is, by this point Hiromi has already met most prosecutors so he knows how they work. When he looks up, he’s stunned. You, a young woman who he’s never seen before is sitting there with a binder open, reading about the case. Hiromi feels his heart skip a beat. He had never seen someone so beautiful before. When you look up at him, he feels like the world stopped for a moment. He starts to feel his face get warmer, what is this feeling? And why can’t he take his eyes off you? He tries to get his attention back to the case but all he can think about is you, who are you and why can’t he think straight?.

The court starts and he defends his client just like he practiced the night before, the judge seems to be on Hiromi’s side, until you stand up and begin talking

“Your honor, the defendant was seen speeding and driving through stop signs as well as red lights. We are very lucky he didn’t take a life, or multiple lives that night. We have evidence of him driving recklessly and in my opinion, no matter what the circumstances were, laws should not be broken. The way he was driving made other drivers have to break laws and that itself is dangerous. He is very lucky the other drivers on the road that night had good reaction time to not crash into him, but if they hadn’t been, we could have lost innocent lives that night. I think he deserves at the very least a suspended license and 6 months in prison to reflect what he has done, your honor” Hiromi’s head is too focused on you to even register what you're saying and before he can say anything, the judge says he has reached a verdict. You sit down, relaxed, like you already know the judge is going to agree with you. You look over at Hiromi who can’t keep his eyes off you, a smirk on your lips only he can see. He feels his palms sweating and his heart racing, did you put a spell on him?

The judge stand up to announce that his client will have his license suspended for 5 years and be in jail for 2 months. The client tries to beg Hiromi for help but Hiromi knows he can’t do anything.

“I’m sorry but this is the best I can do” he says to his client who was now in tears. Hiromi watches the guards take the client away and starts packing up.

“I haven’t seen you before, you new here?” Hiromi looks up and sees you, standing right in front of him

“Uhm n-no… I started a year ago” Hiromi responds, nervous over how close you’re standing.

“Oh, okay… well I guess I’ll see you around then, my name is y/n l/n by the way” a soft smile on your face as you speak.

“I-I’m Hiromi- Hiromi Higuruma” he stutters back quickly. You let out a soft chuckle at his nervousness before giving him a quick bow and leaving. Hiromi stands there, frozen in place, looking at you as you walk away.

Hiromi walks home afterwards, still thinking about you. How you seemed so kind yet so confident and professional. Your beautiful hair and soft eyes. Why did he stutter all of the sudden? He never stutters… and why did he feel like he got a fever out of nowhere? Why was he thinking about you so much? All these things circle around his mind the entire night. That night when he got to bed, he couldn’t sleep. He kept replaying your interaction over and over again. Was he falling in love?

When he got to the office the next day he was more tired than usual, his colleagues noticed and asked if he was okay, but Hiromi just kept brushing them off. He got assigned a new case and went to have lunch with the client. The client had been suspected of vandalism but was released since the cops didn’t have enough evidence on him. After talking with the client he headed back to the office to start working on the case. During the afternoon he got a call from his supervisor, the prosecutor wanted to talk about a possible settlement. He agreed and walked to their office for the meeting. He walked into the building and asked the receptionist where to go, and she walked him to the meeting room. He knocked and walked in.

“Higuruma! pleasure seeing you again” Hiromi stopped in his tracks and sees you sitting there, smiling at him. You were the last person he wanted to see after spending the entire night thinking about you. He takes a deep breath to try and clear his head before walking to his seat

“I-It’s great seeing you too… l/n” he responds before sitting down, too scared to make eye contact with you. ‘Don’t make eye contact’ ‘what if she can read your mind and finds out you have been thinking about her’ he repeated in his head.

“Is your client coming soon?” you ask him

“Uhh… y-yeah he should be here soon” he responds, trying to make eye contact but fails miserably. You nod at him, a soft smile flickers before you turn to the window, looking at the traffic outside. Hiromi feels his face become redder by every second. He takes his tie and loosen it a bit, trying to stay professional. The client comes in a few moments later and Hiromi is fascinated by your confidence. The way you use your movements deliberately, your shin slightly raised, having direct eye contact with the client and your posture is upright. How could you be so calm and relaxed one moment, and so confident the next?

“The city has sent you here today because they want to settle this outside the court. The city has sued you for 300,000 yen and we can come up with a plan for your payment in case you can’t pay cash upfront” you speak with authority, like you are the boss here. Hiromi doesn’t want to let you take control here since it is still his job to help his client and make sure they get the least amount of punishment possible. He also has to make sure you know he’s professional and doesn’t stammer every time he speaks to someone.

“Why 300,000 yen?” he says firmly. You look at him, a little surprised by his tone

“Because vandalism is usually fined with 300,00 yen an-“ Hiromi cuts you off before you can continue

“He hasn’t done anything, you have no proof he did anything so why punish him?” He asks as he crosses his arms, his face emotionless. You take a deep breath to keep your professionalism from slipping before answering

“The city is suing him because he refuses to cooperate with the police. He was seen at the location of the crime by 5 citizens. If it wasn’t him and he did see who it was, then I don’t understand why he won’t cooperate? Why not just tell authorities who it was if it wasn’t you?” you respond to Hiromi with genuine curiosity. You turn to the client

“If you don’t come clean about who it was then you will have to pay the fine, or we take it to court where you might end up with a prison sentence” you say as you look him directly in the eyes. You want to make sure both Hiromi and his client knows how serious this is and how serious the city is about it too. Hiromi looks at his client who now seem more anxious than before

“It’s your choice, unfortunately it would be pointless to argue about it since that would lead to court and as ms l/n said, it could lead to a worse outcome” the client looks between Hiromi and you before agreeing to pay the fine. You shake hands before he’s escorted out by the receptionist. Now it’s just Hiromi and you alone again

“I think that went pretty well” your voice breaking the silence, trying to start conversation

“Yeah, I guess” Hiromi responds, letting out a sigh and leaning back against the chair. Your eyes still on him

“Can I ask you something?” Hiromi’s eyes spark of curiosity as they meet yours again, he nods and you continue

“Do you have a lot of friends? I find it very hard to make friends in this industry, especially being the only girl in my department” his eyebrows raised by your question. He finds the question odd but looking at your face he can tell you feel sad or upset by it, so he answers respectfully

“Honestly, I don’t have a lot of friends. I don’t even know if I’d call my colleagues friends since they don’t seem to actually know me or care about me. After a whole year in this industry, I can confirm it’s very hard to find friends since most people don’t have the time. The younger ones spend all their time trying to show off to their bosses and the older ones have families to take care off” he answers genuinely, with a relaxed tone. You nod, grateful for his honesty

“Glad to know I’m not the only one without friends” you say with a soft chuckle, Hiromi lets out a chuckle as well. You two stay quiet for a moment before you speak again

“Wanna be friends?” you ask, a soft smile on your lips. Hiromi’s eyes widened by your sudden question

“Su-sure” he reply quickly before it even registered in his mind

“Great! Here is my number and maybe we can meet up this weekend to do something?” you have a real smile on your face now, one that makes Hiromi’s heart start beating faster

“Okay!” Hiromi says, thinking about how pretty your smile was and hoped he got to see it more often. Hiromi goes back to the office and works on his next few cases, however he’s having trouble focusing on them because all he can think about is you and your smile. That smile made the entire room feel so much brighter.

After working on his cases he finally heads home. Hiromi takes a shower and puts some comfortable clothes on, after a long day he finally gets to lay in bed. He goes on his phone and gets a message, it’s from you. ‘You did great today :)’ it says, Hiromi doesn’t know how to respond so he just quickly sends a ‘thanks!’ back to you. Why did he have to be so awkward? Why can’t he think straight when you’re in the room?

The next few days go by fast, he hasn’t seen you since Tuesday, now it’s finally Friday. You two have texted each other, mostly you, asking random questions or talking about your day. Hiromi has enjoyed it a lot. You are funny, smart, beautiful and kind. The perfect girl. He has quickly fallen in love with you and it freaks him out. How could you make him fall in love? After all these years of trying to find someone, you somehow managed to unlock his heart. The worst part is, Hiromi doesn’t know what to do. How does he tell you how he feels without being awkward, or what if you don’t like him back? He knows he can’t ask his coworkers about it either since they would make a big deal out of it and probably wouldn’t know how to handle this situation. As he’s sitting in his office, thinking about what to do, a notification from you pops up ‘wanna go see a movie this weekend?’. He sits there, thinking about how to respond. Of course he wanted to spend time with you!, but he didn’t know how to do it without being so awkward. ‘Sure!’ Hiromi finally responded back. This is going to be a long night…

It’s finally Saturday, the day Hiromi can sit in his apartment, drink coffee on his balcony without stress and enjoy sleeping in. After drinking his coffee and reading the newspaper, he remembers the movie. He immediately goes to his closet since he usually just picked a suit and barely looked at what he actually owned. He opens the closet and only sees a bunch of suits. After throwing out his entire closet on the floor, trying to find something casual, Hiromi stands there in shock. How could he not own anything other than suits and his few pairs of pajamas?. The only comfortable clothes he owned was the 5 year old shirt and stained sweatpants he was wearing. He never really needed anything other than suits since they were needed for work and during the weekend he just wore his pajamas all day since he didn’t really do much. Great, now I have to buy a whole new outfit just to sit in a dark room the entire time. He puts on dress pants and a white button up shirt and heads out to buy some clothes. As he’s walking he thinks about how he managed to end up like this. A boring guy that only owns suits and has no social life outside of work. This is the first time since high school he’s actually doing something in his free time, doing something fun. If you two are going to be friends then that means he’s going to need a lot more outfits. He walks store to store and eventually finds a few good pieces. A few shirts, some jeans and a new pair of sneakers, he hasn’t owned sneakers since freshman year of college. Hiromi walks back to his apartment after spending 2 hours shopping. ‘Hey! There is a new movie out, wanna see it with me?’ Hiromi reads your message and wants to say no, this guy just spent all his energy trying to find clothes and today was supposed to be the day he just chills at home. After thinking for a few minutes he comes to the conclusion that if he wants to have friends then that means he’s going to have to sacrifice his weekends. ‘Sounds great! Text me the time and I’ll be there’.

It’s now 8pm and Hiromi has just arrived at the cinema. The movie doesn’t start until 8.30 but Hiromi is a very punctual guy and always makes sure to be early. He waits outside until you show up 15 minutes later. You wore a cute but comfy outfit. What shocked Hiromi more was the fact that you look even more beautiful like this, a casual outfit, your hair not done. How could he be even more attracted to you like this than at work?

“Wow Higuruma, didn’t think you owned anything other than suits” you say with a giggle. How did you know?

“W-well I had to dig them up from the depths of my closet” he responds with a nervous laugh. You immediately blush hearing his laugh. Hiromi doesn’t notice it since he’s too busy looking at everything else. You walk into the cinema and Hiromi follows you around. He hasn’t been to the cinema in a decade. You get the tickets and walk to the theater. Hiromi didn’t even know what movie you were watching, he just let you take control over the whole thing.

“This movie is a rom-con and it’s supposed to be amazing!” you tell him, with a mouthful of popcorn in your hand. Hiromi just smiles, the way your eyes light up from excitement makes Hiromi melt. The movie starts and Hiromi has a hard time focusing on the screen when he can feel his shoulder pressing against yours and he smells your perfume. This feels more intimate than he expected. He doesn’t realize it but his eyes keep wandering back to you. Every time something happens he glances at you, your reactions are just too adorable.

“Are you not liking the movie?” your voice makes him freeze. He looks at you like a deer in headlights. You giggle at his expression, which makes Hiromi calm down a little.

“Sorry… I just haven’t been to a cinema in years so it’s kind of a new experience for me” he softly chuckled as he spoke. Your expression turns sad as you hear him talk.

“Oh, I’m sorry… well since we’re friends now that means we can do things like this!” your words make Hiromi smile, you have such a kind heart.

“Thank you, I needed this outing more than you know” he said, you smile at him

“Anytime” you respond, looking him in the eyes. You feel a blush start creeping up on your face so you quickly turn back to the screen, not wanting him to see it.

As the movie ends you and Hiromi go outside, it’s colder and darker now. You feel the cold wind hitting you, making your hair blow in your face. Hiromi notices and quickly helps you fix your hair. You looked up at him, the other times you had seen him, his eyes seemed dark and deep as midnight, tired and half-lidded. Now as you look up at him you see autumn brown eyes with tiny pupils that give him a quiet, attentive intensity as he focuses on fixing your hair. His fingers are gentle but steady as he tries to make your hair look like it did before. When he feels satisfied with his work he looks down at you, putting a piece of hair behind your ear as he looks you in the eyes with admiration. You feel your heart rate rising every second. How was he so effortlessly hot?

“I had a great time today” he softly said, a small smile on his lips. You smile at him, that warm, genuine smile he loved

“Thank you for being here, I will make sure to pick a better movie next time” you softly laugh as you spoke, making Hiromi chuckle. His smile reached his eyes for the first time all night.

“Why don’t we go do something else this week?” Hiromi looks at you, his eyes wide and filled with excitement. You laugh at his sudden relaxed and friendly manner. He didn’t feel like the awkward and boring lawyer you had met before, and it made you happy knowing he finally felt comfortable being relaxed with you.

“I’d love that!” you responded with excitement. Hiromi smiles before saying goodbye and going home. As he walks home, Hiromi feels genuinely happy for the first time in long. He hasn’t been this excited about anything since he hung out with his friends in high school.

The two of you text each other everyday, sometimes it’s about work and cases, sometimes it’s just random little things like sending a picture of a cute cat you saw.

“Why are you in such a good mood?” Hiromi looks up from his phone, his coworkers are standing around his desk and looking at him with curiosity.

“Oh… it’s nothing!” Hiromi responds with a quiet laugh, scratching his neck and blushing at the sudden attention. His co worker smirks

“You met someone, hm?” Hiromi’s face drops and before he can even argue his coworkers go back to their desks with knowing smiles. Is he really being that obvious? What if that means you know he likes you too and think it’s weird? Hiromi’s thoughts are interrupted by a text from you. ‘What if we go to that aquarium that just opened? :)’. Hiromi smiles and quickly responds, ‘sounds fun! wanna go tonight?’. He doesn’t even care that it’s a Wednesday, he just wants to see you again. Perhaps seeing you again will make him finally confess his feelings…

The day is finally over and Hiromi quickly packs up before going to see you. You rush to the aquarium just as fast, you really wanted to see him again. As Hiromi arrives he notices you rushing over, he’s happy knowing you seem to be just as excited as him.

“You excited?” Hiromi says with a grin, you playfully slap his arm, trying to look angry but failing.

“Can we please just go in?! I wanna see the paracanthurus fish!” Hiromi laughs at your answer.

“What the hell is that? Some type of dinosaur?” You roll your eyes and sign at Hiromi’s response, which makes him giggle.

“No?! It’s the Dory fish, from finding Nemo!” He looks at you with an eyebrow raised before laughing again.

“Alright that’s enough of you making fun of me, I’m going inside!” you say, walking inside. You go to pay for your ticket but before you can even pick up your card, Hiromi taps his on the reader.

“Why did you pay for me?…” you ask, confused by his kind gesture.

“Well it’s the least I could do after making fun of you” he responds with a smirk. You say a quick thank you before running into the entrance. Neither you or Hiromi had changed out of your work clothes before coming and now you realized how weird it looked. Two adults, dressed in fancy suits, walking around an aquarium filled with children. After looking at Hiromi, eyes wider and bright than usual, you didn’t care about it since it wasn’t other people’s business. If Hiromi and you were happy, nothing mattered.

“Y/n, Look at these ones!” your thoughts are interrupted by Hiromi, you turn to look and see him pointing to some jellyfish. You walk over and look at their beautiful colors lighting up the clear blue water. Turning your head, you see Hiromi looking at them, his eyes reminding you of a golden retriever puppy that just got a new toy. After discussing and looking at jellyfish for a few minutes you two continue walking around, admiring the different types of fishes in the tanks. Truth be told, you had a hard time focusing on the fish when your new friend (and secret admirer) had puppy eyes the entire time. He looked so cute right now and he had no idea. You had liked him from the moment you met him, he was handsome, smart and cute. But the thought of getting rejected pushed you into this “friend zone” with him, at least you get to be friends with him, not just rejected and then never being able to speak to him again. This “date” is really testing you, all you want to do is ask him, ask if he feels the same way, to take you out on a date. What’s stopping you?

After exploring the aquarium it’s time to go home. You walk out the exit and stand there for a minute.

“I had a really good time today” he says, breaking the silence. You look at him, this is the perfect moment to confess.

“Hiromi… I need to tell you something” you say, voice shaking a little bit from the nerves. Hiromi gets nervous by your tone. You take a deep breath before continuing

“I like you, a lot… more than as a friend” your eyelashes lower and a blush creeps up on your cheeks. Hiromi looks at you, eyes wide from your confession. Was he dreaming? Did you like him the same way he liked you?

“Y-you… like me?” he asks with shock. You smile at him and look in his eyes

“Yeah, a lot” you respond, softly chuckling. You turn to the side from feeling so vulnerable and shy under his gaze. You look like an angel in this lighting and you just confessed to him? How could someone be so beautiful?

“I have never felt like this before— but I like you too, a lot! I wanted to confess a long time ago but I was scared since I’ve never liked anyone like this before and didn’t want to mess it up… could I please take you on a date?” Hiromi says in one breath. You turn back to him and your eyes meet. The way your eyes sparkle at his confession makes Hiromi melt.

“I’d love that” you respond, making Hiromi smile. You hug him, thinking it was going to be a quick one since he didn’t like physical touch, but you were happily surprised when he didn’t let go of you. The scene looks straight out of a movie, you two hugging under the moonlight. Hiromi finally lets go of you and look you in the eyes with admiration.

“You did something nobody thought was possible…” you look at him with a little confusion

“Really… and what’s that?” Hiromi smiles at you

After a long day of missions, you and your boyfriend walk around the streets of Tokyo. The two of you get separated for a few minutes since you wanted to get snacks and Megumi walked into a store he thought was interesting. When you two reunite, Megumi walks up to you with a bit of nervousness. “This reminded me of you” Megumi says, holding a little keychain of your favorite hello kitty character. He won’t make eye contact with you as he’s talking but when you start hugging him and thanking him, you see a small smile on his face.

You’re changing into some pajamas and getting comfortable in bed, waiting for Megumi to come back. After a few minutes of doom scrolling on your phone, a message pops up “this reminds me of you”. It’s from Megumi, with a picture attached of the sundown. You smile at the message. The fact that he finds so many ways to remind him of you makes your heart melt.

While walking around the mall, Megumi stops infront of a store. You ask him what’s going on and he points to one of the stuffed animals at the window “this reminds me of you”. He walks in and buys the stuffed animal and gives it to you, trying to act nonchalant but after seeing your reaction to his cute and thoughtful gesture, he can’t help but smile at you.

You wake up by hearing someone banging on your door. You turn over, picking up your phone and realize you overslept. “Y/N! You’re going to be late!”, it’s Megumi. Your rush to the door and let him in. He stands there tapping his foot and checking his watch while you quickly get ready. As you’re running to class you realize you forgot your pencils, but Megumi signs while giving you a pen from his bag. “This was going to be a present, I bought it because it reminded me of you” he says with annoyance. You hug him tightly and go into the classroom, leaving a blushing Megumi behind.