#cwy

"Him?!" You whisper back in disbelief.

"Mhm! He's great. He sure needs to learn to use better words to express himself, but other than that he's good. Understanding, wouldn't you say?"

True. He acts like meeting your hygiene standards is a burden, but he does it anyway. He even goes out of his way to let you know. Plus, he's good looking and an amazing cook. It probably doesn't get better thant this.

"I suggest you go for it." Gojo continues. "I think he kinda likes you."

It doesn't matter if he's lying. The decision has been made. You nod.

"Yes? You said yes? Good! This time, I'm starting with you." He concentrates hard. He must feel it, the release of energy. There it is, maybe. Once more. "You should be thankful for my generosity. I'm doing this for you even though you didn't blink for yes."

Obedient as you are, you look at him and clumsily bat your eyelashes.

"Uh..." He feels it, then. There's 'something'. It's working. "You're ready, princess. I'll go get your beast. I mean, prince."

Gojo goes to the kitchen at the back of the restaurant. Not much later, grumpy chef appears with your orders and behind him is handsome cupid sporting a toothy grin.The cook now in the role of waiter sets the table and lingers. He opens his mouth to speak but no words come out. His eyes meet yours for a mere second, enough to turn his cheeks pink. It's endearing, actually. You find him endearing. Gojo really made it work this time. You must do your part.

"Want a sip of my tea?" You push your mug in his direction. Wonderful. What a line. Gojo would consider it worthy of a facepalm. Wait, where is he?

"No. That's alright." Your new love returns your tea to where it was. "Listen... if you trust my food so much, let me... cook for you."

"Huh?" You're honestly confused. "But you already do that. Often."

"Yes. I meant... I can cook for you. Outside of work."

Your friend whistles and that confirms it. It's a romantic offer. Your chest feels warm suddenly. This is happening. You bashfully look at the side, only to spot Gojo at the entrance, waiting for a chance to bid you goodbye. You smile at him as a way to show him your gratitude. Is this it between you two? So bittersweet. You hope you still can see him around, you hope he's soon free and happy...

He blows you a goofy kiss... Oh. Perhaps he shouldn't have, he realizes too late. You're starting at him, motionless, with big shiny eyes, mouth agape. The calm before the storm. Next thing he knows, you're squealing, hugging yourself, and struggling to stay put in your chair. Obviously, you blow a kiss back.

"Didn't know you'd like the idea this much. Should've said it before." Chef is very much pleased by your response.

Gojo is soon at your table. He goes to your friend and does his magic. Gasp. He made them a couple.

"Aw, I'm a little bit jealous." She playfully complains.

"Wait, wait, why?" The man scrambles. "You'll be there as well, right? If not, what's the point?"

What's the point? Are you allowed to feel insulted?

"Frankly, I've been super busy." You inform while getting up. "I guess it'll have to be just the two of you."

You grab bowl of classic ramen, put it on a another table at the corner, go to the counter, ask for another pair of chopsticks and settle on your new spot with your back to the world. Gojo follows you the whole time like a puppy.

"Are you mad?"

"Gojo..." you mumble, eyes trained on your food, "can you help me finish this? I want to go home as soon as possible and take a nap."

"Really?"

"Yes. Or would it look weird? Like noodles mysteriously floating."

He shrugs, already taking a seat in front of you. "Not to my knowledge."

"Alright then. Go ahead."

Gojo swiftly digs in and it's not weird at all. At least not to you. This a normal man enjoying a normal meal in a normal way. Cute. You can tell he likes it, too.

"Wow, big chef is not playing." He points out, about to take another mouthful. "It's a shame he will no longer cook for... " he catches himself before he completes that sentence, but he can sense it, your glower; might as well finish what he was saying, "for you... Too soon for jokes, right?"

No answer.

"Eat, it's gonna get cold."

Nothing.

He pouts. "You're no upset for real, are you? It's... you were not into it and he was. I had to pair him with the other girl! You know that-"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah I know." Your features soften again. "They make more sense together. What you didn't have to do, though, was blow me a kiss."

"Why not?" He's so nonchalant about it. "It's friendly, very common in many countries. And! You loved it."

You smirk at the memory. "I did. But I'm still single and loveless because of that. Next time, you won't react."

"You shouldn't repress your emotions, that's bad." His index finger is up, as if he were telling you something important. "Also, thanks to all that we can now use our plan D!"

"Plan D?! We're there?"

"D for definitely this one will work out."

☆☆☆

You can't help noticing the guy who's been anxiously pacing around near the reception desk for the past 20 minutes. He stops, scrolls through his phone, sighs, and starts pacing again.

"Excuse me," he finally talks to you, "what time do you close?"

"In half an hour." You offer an apologetic smile. It's late to visit a museum.

The man brings both hands to his head. The poor thing is stressed. At that moment, he receives a phone call.

"Hey! Bad news the museum is closing soon but we can still go to -, really? Oh no. We could reschedule. What? No, it's not fun without you. It's fine, see you later."

He hangs up and scrolls a bit more. He then pulls two tickets out of his pocket to study them carefully.

"Excuse me, again," he presents the tickets to you, "would you like to have these? I won't use them and I don't want them to go to waste. They're only valid for today."

Amusement park? It's not exactly your thing. Does Gojo like them? He wouldn't need a ticket, right? What are you even thinking?

"Hmm... how much?" Perhaps you could resell them to your neighbor and her new chef boyfriend.

"No, it's nothing. Just have them."

He's sweet for this but he must feel disappointed.

"Are you absolutely, a hundred percent certain you don't want to use these and you want to give them to me for free?"

"... Well. I did want to go but my brother just canceled."

"You could go by yourself. I'm sure you'll have a great time. Or why don't you try inviting someone else."

"I don't know... Who?" He takes another peek at his phone and lets out a short nervous laugh. "Unless... wouldn't it be strange if I asked you to come with me?"

What does one reply to that? It would indeed be strange since you don't know each other. How unusual. Or is Gojo behind all this? He has to be, that's the perfect explanation.

"I wasn't serious, of course!" The guy scratches his forehead out of embarrassment. "Don't worry about it. I'll leave the tickets here. Thank you." He turns on his heels, eager to leave.

"I'd like that!" Your abrupt response puts his focus back on you. Hopefully this is the right thing to do. "I'm almost done here. If it's not bother waiting a little more, I can go with you."

His face lights up at that.

☆

This guy is an odd one in the positive sense of the word. He was quiet at first, but when you found a topic of interest, he became a chatter box. He's slightly awkward, unintentionally funny, and a bit innocent. You can easily get use to him.

The place is crowded, as anticipated. You trust you can manage. The view is pretty, people are having a great time, and you're with good company. Everything is going nicely until he chooses a ride. How high up there it is and how many times it spins, you don't know. More than you can handle, probably. You tell him that it's better to start easy but it's useless. He knows what he came here for; he must have this whole visit planned out, and you're not going to ruin that.

You get in line. The closer you get to the ride, the more frightening it seems. As minutes pass by, you come up with more scenarios of how things could go wrong. It's not that you're afraid of everything, it's just that you need to mentally prepare for situations like this. Some warm up would've been helpful, too.

"Are you scared?" The man asks. "Nothing bad is gonna happen. Hold onto me if you want."

That's kind of him. Too bad it doesn't calm you down. You simply don't like this ride, you wouldn't ride it even on your best day. You'd accept other attractions but not this one. And now you're shaking. Great.

Despite your current state, you don't miss the distinctive mop of white hair at the front of the line with this girl. Later, Gojo comes to stand next to your new friend and does... his cupid work? Did he get them together?

"That girl over there..." the guy observes, "she's alone and looks as scared as you. Should we call her over?"

"Yeah..."

He grabs the girl's attention and she rushes to where you are. After the man proposes she joins you, she gladly agrees.

"I think it's better if it's only the two of you." You suggests. "I want to check other rides."

"You don't mind?"

Not at all. And neither do they.

You lost track of Gojo, he might've left and you should too. You hurry your steps, it's going to be a long way back home.

"Who would've thought you'd get yourself a date behind my back." There is Gojo, matching your pace, as he's done before.

You smile at his teasing, but the joy doesn't fully reach your eyes.

"You okay?"

Nod.

"Wanna call?" He puts his hand on his ear pretending it is a phone. You do the same with your actual cellphone.

"I... why am I like this?" Exhaustion show in your tone. "There are too many things I can't do. I can't shake hands, I can't eat out without bothering whoever is cooking, I can't come to places like this and have a normal date... It must be so difficult being with me."

Gojo considers that comforting is not his strong suit, however, he's good at telling it like it is.

"Everybody is difficult. Sharing your life with others requires constant effort and patience. But someone like you is worth all that and more..." He rubs the back of his head. "I mean you, and lots of people. People in general. Maybe not all people but you get it..."

"I see..."

He wants to be offended by your lack of enthusiasm but there's a chance he messed up the last part. He's going to have to be more straightforward "It's true! Someone shows you the slightest bit of understanding and you give them so much more in return. In fact, it's frustrating."

You look at him after a while. "Wasn't aware you could say such kind words."

"I know what I'm talking about. You've gone through plan a, b, and c for my sake. Don't deny it."

"...You're worth all that and more."

"Oh you!" He crosses his arms defensively. "Are you making fun of me or are you flirting."

"I'm not making fun of you." You state with a genuine smile this time. The one he wanted to get out of you.

There's a short pause before Gojo decides to express his thought.

"We don't have to keep doing this, you know. Looking for your soulmate or whatever. If you're done with that, we can leave it here. It's fine by me."

It's been tiring for you, yet you need to give it another shot. In your condition, Gojo may be the only one who can help with your romantic life. And most importantly, in his present condition, you may be the only one who can help him with whatever issue he's facing.

"Have we run out of options? Because I'm willing to try once more."

"There is one... if it weren't for this small, insignificant problem, this would've been the number one option. But fear not!" His sudden loud voice startles you. "Since I'm so benevolent, I've have chosen to provide my assistance for as long as needed."

UNTIL BARRY HAD TO ENTER THE SPEED FORCE RIGHT BEFORE THEIR WEDDING AND I WAS SOBBING FOR 3 HOURS AND BASICALLY RAGE QUIT THE SHOW.. LIKE THEY HAD JUST SENT OUT INVITATIONS AND IT WSKHSSISHSH

You weren't expecting it to happen this soon. You thought he'd gather some data first, your likes and dislikes, etcetera. Though he did say he's been doing his research on you. He probably has all the necessary details.

You check the time on your watch. There's some stuff you have to do at home... and none of that is as fun as being introduced to the future love of your life.

You nod again.

"Yay!" Gojo moves in front of you to lead the way, walking backwards the whole time in order to keep facing you. He tells you all he knows about the candidate: was in a serious relationship long ago, very soft on the inside despite his rough appearance, dog lover, has a stable job and will likely spoil you rotten (Gojo thinks). "And right now he's at the gym, so we're heading there."

"Boo.. "

"Heh you just have to pretend you're interested in a membership or something like that. I know for a fact you prefer working out at hom-"

"Excuse me?!"

Gojo brings his index finger to his lips, seemingly to remind you you shouldn't talk to him in public, but you can tell he does it to dissimulate a self-satisfied smile. The implication of him having seen you working out at home has you glaring at him with your cheeks burning, and of course he finds it very comical.

"Anyway, you're gonna thank me later when you see that bro is seriously buff." Gojo flexes for demonstration, strong forearms becoming evident under his sleeves.

"Wow." You whisper. The embarrassment from before is suddenly forgotten. You fan yourself now that your cheeks are burning for an entirely different reason. Too bad you can't make any comments yet.

°

One foot inside the gym and you're already regretting it. It's packed at this time of the day, and more people arrive by the second. But you must try.

The receptionist greets you with kindness, you do the same and then proceed to awkwardly ask for information.

"There he is." Gojo announces.

That's a huge man, even his gym bag looks like a kid's lunchbox on him. You can no longer hear a word from the receptionist.

"What should I do?" You murmur.

"Pardon?" The woman answers instead. You shake your head.

"Nothing. Leave it to me." Gojo assures.

As soon as he says that, you feel a looming presence settling next to you.

"Hey." He addresses the woman at the front desk. His voice is so deep. "You're new?"

That was directed at you. You have no option but to look up at the man. What a face. Gojo knows how to do his job.

"Not... yet. I'm still weighing my options."

"I could help you around if you decide to stay here."

A group of men abruptly step into the reception, each one of them high-fiving your love interest before exiting the place. Once they're gone, he gives you his full attention and his name. He expects to hear yours as he extends his hand for a handshake. Unfortunately, your mouth remains closed, your arms stiff at your sides, and your eyes fixed on his empty hand. You dread handshakes. They're not easy, you never know where people's hands have been. And now that you recently saw him grabbing a bunch of dudes' hands, it's ten times worse.

"You don't have to do it." Gojo calls, quickly picking up on the situation. "Just tell him your name, it'll be fine."

"... Uh-"

The man tsks. "Alright then." As he's about to lower his arm, the receptionist comes to the rescue and gives him his deserved handshake, grinning brightly. "I appreciate it, sweet one." He thanks the woman.

Although it's not his intention to make you feel guilty, you do anyway. Guilty and uncomfortable. You turn toward Gojo, concerned he might be upset with you for ruining this, however, he's busy staring at the pair, his expression unreadable.

"Well?" The receptionist queries, still cheerful. "Would you like to sign up? You'll get lots of benefits."

"Sure thing." The man chimes in. "We'll even teach you some manners over here. We can't have a pretty lady like you being rude."

Gojo, like a misbehaved cat, knocks over a half-emptied bottle of water that was sitting on the desk, spilling the rest of content on the floor. "Now that is rude."

"Gojo-"

"I'm changing my mind about this guy. Why don't we leave?"

He doesn't need to tell you twice. You apologize to the other two people and get out of there. You're finally free to use your hand wipes with nobody to tell you it's impolite.

Where Gojo is going, you don't know, yet you follow. You don't want to part ways when he's looking this disappointed. You get an idea.

"Gojo, are you mad? Wanna hear a joke?"

"Only if you don't mind others thinking you're a weird-" he notices you holding your phone to your ear, "oh."

"Please, talk to me. You're too quiet and it's making me nervous."

He takes a moment to organize his brain. "It's... I don't understand what happened. I could've sworn he was a good one. Sure, he's rough around the edges, blunt and whatnot but why would he speak to you like that? To YOU of all people. One looks at you and softens up on the spot. And I promise you he's a clean guy overall, I made sure to get that right." The faster he talks the faster he walks. "How come he felt like high-fiving the whole gym today and then ask you for a handshake like it was nothing? Have some common sense, dude."

"Gojo."

"And on top of that, he dares to suggests you have no manners. That you're 'rude'" He mocks the man's voice on the last word.

"I was rude."

"And- what?!" The rambling ceases. "No, you weren't."

"Yes, I was. If I wasn't going to shake his hand, I should've at least said something. Maybe he would've... uh... soften up."

"Mhm. And say something like what? Take that nasty hand away from me? Shove it up your-"

You snort. "Very classy, mister. I'm ending this fake call."

"No! Wait! My point is that you weren't disrespectful. You got anxious. That was it, right? It would've been nice if he had considered that."

Simple as they are, those words mean a lot to you. "...Thank you." You clear your throat. "Misunderstanding aside, I didn't dislike your pick. He has potential."

"You're kidding."

"No. I'm being positive and I believe he was just trying to be funny."

Gojo contemplates your supposition. To his knowledge, the man is not a bad person, so you might actually be onto something.

"In that case, he needs better jokes because he wasn't funny, he was an idiot. It worried me you would think of me as an irresponsible cupid." He tuts. "How frustrating."

You laugh at that. "Is that why you pushed the bottle of water off the desk?"

"And I'd do it again!... or was it too childish?"

"I'm kind of fascinated by everything you do, so my answer is no. Though," you try to recall that moment, "how did you do it? Did you just touch the bottle? Can you do that?"

"Correct." He beams. "I can interact with every single thing in this world, except people. Pretty cool, huh?"

More like lonesome, considering he doesn't give the impression of enjoying being on his own for too long.

"Is it cool interacting with me? You're allowed to lie and say yes."

"Hmmmmm..." he strokes his chin while the humming continues forever.

"Aw, please, I can't be that lame."

His face breaks into a smile. "Pretty pretty cool. But! Let's not get sidetracked. How do we feel about gym bro? Do we forget about him or do we want to give him another chance? I'll reserve my comments."

Tough decision. If you choose this guy, Gojo will be done with his job sooner. If it doesn't work, however, you'll be dragging things out. It's probably safer to choose someone with whom you click immediately.

"Honestly," you begin, "he seemed quite happy holdings his friends' hands and I wouldn't like to interfere with that. I will let gym bro go.

He claps and wipes a non-existent tear. "Very thoughtful, very wise-"

"Besides, his massive biceps were impressive but yours are much much better."

The confession leaves him astonished, speechless for half a second. "You mean these bad boys?" He strikes a pose like he did earlier, showing off his well defined muscles. Your excited squeak only encourages him to keep doing it.

You're a giggling mess by now. "Why were you hiding them from me? You're so silly."