Rohan grumbled as his paintbrush stroked the paper before him, his strokes quick, rushed, and most of all rather sloppy, which was rare for the oh-so-great mangaka. Why? He was feeling impatient. He grasped the purple and green ink and splattered them onto the paper, the colors fitting into their right places while he squinted at the page and decided it would have to do as a simple work in progress rather than an actual piece he could be proud of. He perked up, hearing the doorbell go off once or twice. “Finally,” he whispered to himself. He stood to his feet and brushed his hands off on a white handkerchief, walking down his grand stairs to the door. Why was he so antsy in the first place? Tonight was date night.
As he opened the door, he was greeted to the sight of Lila, who opened her mouth to greet him only to be interrupted by Rohan’s sudden, “You’re late,” which wasn’t what Lila expected to hear when Rohan, who seemed antsy and impatient by the look of annoyance on his face, opened the door for her. Granted, she was late by some ten minutes, but it wasn’t because she wanted to make the oh-so-great mangaka, Rohan Kishibe, angry. Or maybe annoyed? Whatever it was, it certainly couldn’t be either of the two.
“Oh sorry, Mr. Grumpy.” Lila entered the house with sly smile on her face and her arms crossed, the mangaka closing the door behind her, pouting over how relaxed she was over this. “I would’ve arrived sooner but my manager didn’t bother to remind me that I had a meet-up with fans down at the local Kameyu store, and you know I can’t disappoint them,” The lilac-haired woman responded as she sat down to take off her shoes and placed them beside his own.
“Sadly, I did disappoint my biggest fan,” she spoke in a mock tone and rose up to meet Rohan face to face and give him a small peck on the cheek, which was rather hard seeing how she had to tiptoe a bit to reach his face. “Who said I was your biggest fan?” he snorted, although the fragile touch of her lips on his skin drove shivers down his spine and painted his cheeks with a hint of pink. It was hard for him to stay mad at Lila, especially knowing how her manager was and how she was not the type to leave her beloved fans for more important meet-ups, or at least important to him, with himself. “Oh don’t lie. You know you are! After all, I’m sure I’m YOUR biggest fan too.” She poked his nose, making him brush her hand away while she chuckled in response.
He wasn’t usually so bashful in nature, what with his pride being his most flamboyant asset after all. Yes, everyone knows that side of Rohan; the side that displays his work and visage with pride and gusto. He carried himself about with exceptional eloquence and grace, while still maintaining that strong, sharp look to his posture. What virtue he has though, for despite his boastful nature and his proud manner of speaking, his humble heart was what added flavor to his character; like a perfectly fine, expensive dish that does not betray the pallet.
He caught her spacing out, gazing at him. He gave her a wily smirk, which had succeeded in distracting him from the blush that had previously dusted his cheeks.
“What?!” Caught red-handed. His smirk only grew, and his eyes slightly squinted in amusement. Now it was her turn to blush.
Oh, it’s on. Game, set, and match.
She silently brooded at the fact that he had caught her staring like that. How embarrassing. But it wasn’t all bad; it was nice to see him happy.
The silence in the house didn’t linger too much though because she flicked him lightly with her fingers as she puffed her cheeks up.
“Hey! What was that for?!” It didn’t hurt, but he wasn’t expecting it either.
“For being so adorable!” He hadn’t expected that either.
Rohan sputtered almost indignantly, for once, finding he could not express himself with the correct words. She had that sort of effect on him. It didn’t last long, however, because he gave her a rather furtive grin.
“You’re just trying to distract me from what you just did. Why were you staring at me like that? What were you thinking?” It came as a surprise to her that he had not suggested what he thought she was thinking. She had expected something like, “I know, I know. I’m striking.”
Or at least, something similar to that remark.
“So? Are you going to be honest? Spit it out. I don’t have all day. I could very well be working on my manga transcripts instead of sitting here while you gawk.” While his tone was of course as rude as expected, it was the usual from someone such as Rohan. However, she felt as if it was the nicest he could possibly be. While he wasn’t admitting it, he was somewhat revealing he still made time for her despite being so busy, something he didn’t give to others. She sure as hell knew for a fact that he didn’t treat anyone like Josuke or Okuyasu as nicely as he treated her.
“You’re staring again,” Rohan scolded while he tilted his head, his eyes somewhat narrowed while she seemed to freeze in the realization that while lost in her thoughts she had been gawking at him once again, though this time for a different reason than before. “It’s nothing. I just..” She began to think. They weren’t really committed were they? In fact, he barely did anything that could be considered a ‘girl’s teenage dream’ or something corny like that. The closest to a date they got was when he took her out to take pictures of the city, or when he needed a model to get gesture drawings from or references for new artworks. While all of that was well and fine, she was happy with him. It was a casual romance… Nothing too serious or exhausting, right?
“Rohan, how do you feel about us?” she suddenly cut in. This seemed to make Rohan flinch as if he had been struck; his brows furrowed while he sat back, looking at her with a somewhat shocked gaze although it could easily be mistaken with annoyance even if he did not mean to. Seeing his expression, she as well flinched, unsure of why he reacted that way. “Why do you ask?” Rohan suddenly answered her own question with a question. “Well I mean, it’s just that everything is so casual between us. Do you really feel committed to this?” she asked. Rohan stared at her, his brows knit together this time in what seemed to be concern. He stood up and walked over to her, his strides quick and impatient which startled her and made her instinctively take a step back, not in fear of what he would do - she trusted him to never hurt her - but in fear of what she said. Was this the day they break up? But she thought everything was going so well! Sure, it was casual, a bit slow, but it was no reason to break up-! She was interrupted from her panicked thoughts when Rohan suddenly wrapped his arms around her and brought her close, his face leaning close to her own with his eyes narrowed before they closed, and his lips met her own for a mere three seconds, but those three seconds felt like bliss to her. After all, it was rare Rohan did any of the first steps! Usually, she initiated anything; cuddling, kissing, anything of that sort. As he pulled back, he held her to his chest and his hands brushed through her soft strands of hair. “Geez, of course I’m committed.” he spoke in a muttered tone. “Do you doubt me?”
Hearing his tone, she fell into his embrace easily. For once it wasn’t annoyed or impatient, but it was somewhat blunt and flat. She knew he struggled with the idea of concern for others, or maybe he just didn’t want to admit it, so she snuffled her face into his chest while she held him tightly. He let out a grunt as her tight grip on him seemed to nearly suffocate him before she loosened up. “No, I could never doubt you,” she spoke against his chest, peaking up at him to meet his eyes before grinning and stating, “I just worried you were growing bored.” Rohan glanced away, keeping his arms around her while the two stood there in total silence., the hug being their only form of communication while their cuddling lasted for another few seconds, the warm embrace of his arms felt like heaven to the girl he held so firmly within his grasp.
“Look, I don’t get into things I’m not sure about. I don’t like to waste my time. Do you think I’d be dating you if it was just a waste of time?” he grumbled, holding her head to his chest. She seemed to grow immensely happy hearing this and nuzzled her head into his collarbone. “You mean that?” she asked, her tone a bit hushed and soft as if she was worried to ruin the mood of this moment. “Of course I’m sure, idiot. Weren’t you listening?” he asked. Silence fell before the two as they gazed at one another and leaned forward, the two of them locking lips for a moment to kiss one another. She couldn’t help but smile into the kiss, as his lips felt soft and gentle against her own. They pulled back after a mere five seconds, their kisses never being too long. He suddenly reached his hands up and pinched her cheeks however, making her squeak. “Hey!” she sputtered. “That’s revenge for flicking my forehead earlier,” he spoke while releasing her face from his grasp. She rubbed her face before laughing. “Okay, okay I’m sorry,” she said while she leaned into his grasp yet again.
“Hey, how about you move in with me?” Rohan suddenly spoke bluntly, as if what he said wasn’t all too shocking at all. She paused, and pulled back to look at him with wide eyes. “You mean that?” “Like I said, I don’t say shit I don’t mean.” She stared at him. “You REALLY mean that?” she added. “Geez, how many times do I have to say yes? Yes, yes, yes I mean it,” he spoke while he crossed his arms while her own arms remained around his waist “Yes, I want you to move in with me, but if you don’t want to then whatever.” He turned away stubbornly while her eyes were as wide as moons, soon a grin curling up onto her lips as she said, “I would love too!” and hugged him tighter against her.
He grunted and felt his ribs being crushed within her tight hug. “Okay, okay, let go,” he spoke while he grabbed her head and pushed her away a bit. “You trying to kill me already? We haven’t even moved in together.” He paused. “Huh, that’s a good idea for a story actually. A couple moves in together only to reveal one is a murder-“ She interrupted him. “Hey, don’t go off planning a manga already! Today’s date night, remember?” she spoke before adding, “And I mean a REAL date today.” Rohan seemed confused. “Walking around the city isn’t date night?” he spoke. “No silly! This time I want to sit down and go to a nice restaurant; not walk around and take random pictures of people or trees,” she pouted, poking his chest. “Fine. Fine,” he muttered while he looked down at her. “Then lead the way, or whatever, not like I care.” She smiled, knowing deep down that he truly did care. She grabbed his hand and led him out of his house.
She expected him to snap his hand away from her as soon as they stepped out; they never had any affection in public because Rohan wasn’t too into PDA; they never hugged, kissed, anything like that, especially not holding hands. However, she was surprised when he continued to walk alongside her, holding hands for all the world to see, which she brightened immediately and smiled. She felt warm within her heart, and fuzzy knowing that deep down she was melting the ice-cold heart of Rohan Kishibe. She brushed some hair out of her face before jumping up a bit to peck his cheek with another kiss. “Hey, Rohan? I love you,” She chirped. “I know you do,” Rohan grumbled, but after a moment of hesitation, he sighed and brushed a hand through his green hair. “I love you too.” And that was all she needed to hear before she felt as happy as she could.
