overture ; your roommate gives you his number, but he completely ignores you when you see him at the location he works at!
duet ; theme park employee!toji fushiguro x f!reader
tempo ; non-canon compliant, semi-smau, slice of life, strangers to friends to lovers, slowburn, fluff, eventual smut, angst with happy ending, darling is described as feminine, yearning, theme park shenanigans, and they were roommates…, partial nudity, suggestive humour
letter from the phantom ; thank you as always to @mmnekomii for helping me with writing this! comments and reblogs are appreciated.
masterlist . . . previous . . . next (4/29) . . .
The next day, you woke up to the sound of your ridiculously hot roommate digging through his dresser. You feign sleep, facing the mirror that doubled as your closet door, which gives you a glimpse of the most beautiful back you’ve seen.
Toji’s waist is so tapered and thin, you genuinely debate on DM-ing Bella Hadid. His boxer-briefs hug his ass, two perfectly sculpted globes staring into your eyes in the reflection of the mirror. You watch him grab a wifebeater and grumpily walk past your bed, stepping out into the bathroom with a deep sniffle—he sounds like a dad that woke up in the middle of the night.
It’s five-A.M., actually.
The lamplight was enough for you to see everything, enough for you to see him take a quick glance at your bed and see if you’re asleep.
He doesn’t notice you aren’t. He doesn’t seem to care.
You listen to him brush his teeth, and you realize how thin these walls are… is this seriously going to be your life from now on? You shuffle in your bed, facing the partition that divides your bed from Toji’s. You wonder when he got back from the gym last night, and also how you didn’t wake up to him coming in. You assume you were just that exhausted from the big move—Probably tired to stir from sleep to acknowledge your beefy roomie.
Quietly, you grab your phone off your side table and hide beneath your soft blankets. You know Nellie’s awake. That girl has always been an early riser, unlike you.
You turn back around to set your phone on the table again, deciding it best to try and sleep a little longer before your first training meeting at eight, but heavy footsteps make your breath hitch.
You’re able to hide your eyes behind your bangs to keep up the act of sleeping, and you can barely make out the shape of Toji. He’s so big, towering over you at the edge of your bed as he sets a small paper on your table-thing. He stands there for a few moments too long, and you can feel his gaze piercing your figure as you try to steady your breathing.
You can barely make out the way his v-line drags down, and maybe a bit of a happy trail… You screw your eyes shut and just focus on puppies and rainbows.
Another sniffle and he’s walking away, sighing as he slides open his closet to grab his uniform.
Your meeting lasted four entire hours, with a paid fifteen minute break halfway through. Nellie had forced you to be social, insisting that this will be a great way for you to get out of your shell and stop focusing on your weird, dubiously Chinese boyfriends (your obsession for Love and Deepspace may be a problem). You met a handful of people—Augustine, who is working as a park greeter for Merrytime Park Kira World’s first park with the main big castle themed around Camelot from King Arthur’s, and her sister, Evelyn, who is working as a concierge at a resort you forget the name of.
Nellie and you decide to spend the day at Adventure Park. It was decidedly your favourite since your first trip here two years ago. You had never been to Kira World before that high school seniour band trip, and the company’s dedication to customer service was just so inspiring. When you caught wind of the internship program, you hopped on board immediately, and you begged Nellie to join you and escape the chill of Washington.
“Soooo….” Nellie takes a dramatic sip of her margarita, the tamarind sticking like glue to the corner of her pale lips. The sun makes her box-dye seem especially blue today. “Anything new with Mr. Otome Love Interest?”
“Nel, it’s been one day,” you sigh. Suddenly, your milkshake seems quite appetizing. Your gaze is glued to the Fruity Pebble toppings to hide your blush.
Your best friend pouts. “A lot can happen in eight hours, babe!! He was probably staring longingly at you through the partition, wishing he had the confidence to talk to such a beautiful lady~”
“He’s hot enough to get any girl he wants,” your eyes roll, not wanting to encourage Nel’s silly fantasies. “Plus, he’ll never be as hot as Sylus anyways…”
“Girl, what does a man made of pixels do against a real guy that probably has a huge di-“
“ENOUGH! Nellie, will you drop it!? We’re just roommates!” You squeal, hiding your face behind your palms. You can feel your cheeks warming up, and the sheet of paper in your purse is practically on fire…
You remember it vividly—this morning, that is. Toji had left your shared suiteroom and rummaged around in the kitchen before leaving. You think you heard him mumble something to the suitemate across from you two, but you were too glued on the paper left on your bedside table.
It was cute—really cute, actually. You figured he sleeps late since he got home and immediately hit the gym. You haven’t actually texted him. Well- you did, but… it wasn’t much anything.
It was actually a little pathetic, now that you’re looking back on it. You curse your lack of experience in social settings, silently wishing you had forced yourself to be more extroverted in high school. In total honesty, Nellie is was kind of your only friend. Sure, the two of you have your Discord group, but… That was the extent of it.
“You’re such a debbie downer, babe,” Nellie frown, reaching up to pinch your cheek gently. She always treated you like a baby—much to your dismay—because you’re a year younger, being recently twenty and her being twenty-one.
“I am not ‘down’ about anything, Nel—it’s called being realistic,” you grumble lowly as you shoot her a glare. “I just met him, and we have jobs and lives. I’m sure he’s mature enough to realize that-“
“BLAH BLAH BLAH- whatever, let’s go ride Galactic Throwback,” with that, she drags you off into the crowd, her pink margarita sloshing every which way. You just let her do as she pleased.
You love her, that’s why. She’s all you need.
You don’t have time for romance. You’re too employed for this. You have actual goals, too! Like getting your degree! You don’t have time for romance.
Nel gave up drinking around the world by the third pavilion, which ended up being beer again “it tastes like bready soda!”. You’re glad, because a drunk Nel is a bad Nel that makes bad Nel decisions. The shops you explore are abundant with plushies, which is your area of expertise, but the one with the most is the store in the Japan pavilion…
It’s glorious in there. Pokémon, Chiikawa, Doraemon, Ghibli, yukata, snacks—anything in famous Japanese culture, it’s there!
You especially gush over the soft stuffies resembling fat rabbits or foxes. Everything is cute and cuddly and so very you. Nellie is the devil on your shoulder, encouraging you to swipe your credit card. Her cheshire grin only tempts you to purchase the seven plushies in your basket…
“I don’t even have space on my bed for all of this…” you sniffle dramatically, not wanting to part ways with any of the fluffy friends.
A playful nudge hits your side. “Maybe Mr. Otome can keep some for youuu~”
“Quit it!” you smack Nellie’s arm. You decide to venture further into the store, finding the snacks.
You stop in your tracks. Seriously? Here? Despite the crowd of people, Toji sticks out like a sore thumb among his fellow coworkers. Most of the people working here are typical Japanese folk—lean, average heights, and customer service personas on-point.
You expected him to be in food and beverage. Toji clearly knows how to put on a good sweat, and he reminds you of an old linecook that had a weird crush on you at your old job back in Washington. He’d be perfect in the food industry, actually, but he’s just some guy working in retail right now.
In honesty, he doesn’t seem like the type to enjoy acting. He doesn’t seem have the time or energy for it, really. He’s just the muscle hire, and you can tell because he’s following some petite beauty around with a box of assorted Japanese alcohol brands—probably so they can organize together.
He doesn’t notice you. Doesn’t even spare you a glance.
Gunmetal blue eyes stay locked on the girl before him—Mizuki, you believe? She gorgeous. She has a mole on her cheek, and her makeup is a soft shade of rose to accentuate her fair skin, along with a glossy lip that reminded you of a bunny’s tongue. Her brown hair is perfectly straight with blunt bangs grazing her brow, shining beneath the amber store lights.
They actually look kind of cute together…
Toji follows her like a lost puppy, talking to her in their mother tongue while she crouches down to reorganize some bottles on the lowest shelf. You swear you can see a tail wagging on him!
“Hey, check out this hairpi- woah.”
Nellie’s jaw drops as she stands next to you, eyes glued to Toji’s beautifully sculpted ass. His pants do him every justice—his thick thighs perfect for- erm-
“Who is HE!? Great googly moogly-“ You slap your palm over your bestie’s mouth, dragging her someplace further away from the duet restocking Sapporo cans.
You grimace once you find a safe spot.
“DUDE, HE’S FIIIINNEEE…!”
You have half a mind to throw Nellie into the nearest trash bin! She’s far too loud about how hot your roommate is, and you’re sure everyone else in this store knows how hot he is. He probably knows how hot he is.
“Let’s just move on,” you pinch the bridge of your nose. You just want to go on a thrill ride and forget this nonsense. No more ogling hot men that are out of your league!
Well, after today of course.
You try to avoid looking at him as you clumsily browse the shelves lined with seasonal snacks, but he’s just so big. Broad shoulders, a flirtatious smirk, hooded eyes that just draw you in, and that low voice… Who knew Japanese could sound so sexy, too? Or maybe that’s just Toji’s nature…? Either way, he seems to be pretty interested in what Mizuki(?) is telling him. A part of you wishes you could understand.
Why won’t he look at you?
Is it really not worth it to be cordial with you?
Insecurities swim through your head, but are quickly reeled away when a soft hand grabs yours.
“Let’d get out of here, babe. I’m hungry~!” Nellie smiles, knowing just how to cheer you up. Gently, she tugs you away from the scene. No use in lamenting over a man that wouldn’t ever be yours in the first place.
“Mm, that girl seemed to be pretty interested in you, Zenin… do you know her, or is she like one of those fangirls from TikTok?” Mizuki hums as she stands up to her full height. Toji’s lip purses, the scar on the corner tugging slightly.
“…just my roommate—nothing special,” he assures, the common language between the insuring no guest can understand them.
Nothing special, but his roommate was certainly a cutie. He didn’t mean to be creepy, but he took a glance when got home from the gym that night. You looked so peaceful… Mizuki’s voice, however, breaks the memory of your sleeping beauty glowing softly from the sliver of light coming from the bathroom door.
“Ohh, right! You got a new roommate! She’s a girl though…?”
“Yeah. She opted-in for co-ed, too, but she doesn’t seem so thrilled… Why y’asking? Jealous, Kokonoe?” Toji grins teasingly, seeing how Mizuki’s cheeks flush slightly.
“Ahh, but she’s lucky… you’re so strong, Zenin! She’ll feel safe knowing such a big man is her roomie!” The young woman chuckles, her energy bright as always. Her burly coworker can’t help but smile a little too.
“Don’t sugarcoat it, Kokonoe. You’ll make me blush,” the flirtation is light, but there. Toji places a big hand gently atop the crown of her head, messing up her bangs effectively. “Let’s restock the ice cream freezer before a coordinator yells at us. C’mon.”
Despite his emphasis on work, Toji couldn’t help but think about his new roommate. Her name certainly is pretty, and she’s pretty too… Not like how Mizuki is so mousey and almost fawn-like, but a bit like-
No, this is stupid. Why the hell is he compared cute girls to animals?
…well, she does have a lot of rabbit plushies on her bed. Maybe she’s like a rabbit? He remembers how her foot crossed over to his side of the partition and lightly kicked his—maybe she really is part rabbit…!?
Whatever. Toji’s too employed for this. He needs to go restock the shelf of potato chips before someone catches him slacking off again.
@loopsilolz @jayleenvvglooms @heeknow @estella-novella
