xena

you can give someone the tools, the task and apparatus for something but those things are essentially useless to them if they don't have a certain level of knowledge and intellect to know what to do with them. that's the honest truth. please let's not pretend this was some petty theft when there are so many variables in place that essentially made it impossible for him to achieve any of these things but still found a way even for a short space of time.

it's okay to hate him and want to see him lose. that's entirely understandable but let's not pretend he wasn't an incredible opponent against groups of people who have inherent advantages

even as the story progressed, i would register in the back of my mind that even if Changyu and Zheng go back, it will never be anything like it was before. they were forced to move forward and would never be able to even pretend to go back to their old lives because it was destroyed along with the massacre. You can rebuild homes, but you can't rebuild the lives lost. I can't lie to you chat, ep40. where Changyu came back and we saw everyone, including those who had been slaughtered welcoming her back? i sobbed gang. like i lost it when Man Di showed up, like, are you shitting me right now? how dare you pull at my heartstrings like this??

What was your first video game?

Feed your dashboard by answering my question, blogger.

honestly, I think at the time they met, he would still be way too mentally ill to even think critically about what that would mean for his own beliefs but i do love the teacher Geto AU for this reason. where he does still have this underlying distain/resentment towards non-sorcerers yet has a soft spot towards Maki and Mai due to his experiences and grievences he felt when it came to Mimiko and Nanako.

you had arrived promptly in the morning as usual to the office, opting to arrive a little earlier than most to avoid conversation before set up and morning coffee. after placing your bag down and sitting for a few minutes to check emails and make a small task list to do before lunch, you leave your desk to prepare a cup of coffee.

a few greetings were exchanged with co-workers who would pass by as you waited to the kettle to boil. after pouring water into your cup and making your coffee as you liked, you left the spoon in the sink and made your way back to your desk. by this time, your coworkers have started to settle into their desks. you gave a small wave in greeting as you made your way over. you paused as you got to your desk in confusion as to something on it you don't recall leaving this morning. carefully placing your fresh cup on your desk, you carefully pick up the box with apparently a botanical lego set inside. you were familiar with it from what you had seen online or in stores, but you could not for the life of you make sense of why one had been placed on your desk.

you held it up to show your nearby co-workers

"um what's this?" you asked. a co-worker looked up from his desk to see what you were asking about

"it's a lego set? one of those flower ones it looks like. why do you ask?" he replied before one of your other co-workers walked past and stopped at your desk

"oh my gosh, is that one of those botanical lego sets? it's so pretty! let me see!" she gasped, placing her papers down as you handed her the box.

"so it's not one of yours placed here by mistake? it's not mine so i'm confused" you explained as you sat back into your chair, taking a sip of your coffee. your co-worker who was holding the box placed it back on your desk before picking up her files

"nope. maybe you've got admirer~" she teased before making her way to her nearby desk. "ew...stop" you cringed as you other co-worker laughed in response before adding "i mean, if you didn't get it and it isn't one of ours, i'd say it's likely to be a gift. have you seen the price of those things? they aren't exactly cheap you know". you hummed in acknowledgement before opening your desk drawer and placing it inside before closing it up.

"maybe...I don't know what it's about but whatever. I got stuff to do anyways so i'm not gonna dwell on whatever that's about" you replied, going back to engaging in a little conversation before everyone got into their work for the morning.

lunch eventually began to roll around, so you finish up whatever you're busy with and close your laptop to head to the cafeteria before it gets really busy. on your way there, you're suddenly stopped by arms wrapped around you and now being spun in the air for a second before being placed back down and turned to face the culprit.

"what the hell was that about, Gojo?" you exclaimed before turning around again. "you gave me such a fright" you huffed before you started walking again with Gojo hot on your trail.

"hey, i just wanted to make sure I caught you in time before you speed off. you're always walking like you're in a hurry" he teased, placing his hand on the back of your neck as he walked with you.

"it's called 'walking with purpose'. i just wanted to get to the cafeteria before it's packed" you replied. Gojo held out his other arm to check the time on his watch (that was clearly wildly expensive). "oh, is it that time already? let me join you!" this wasn't a request or suggestion but rather a proclaimation that he was joining you whether or not you refused. this wouldn't be the first time and certainly not the last.

as you both approached the cafeteria, he leaned in a bit, keeping his voice low yet only loud enough for you to hear

"so what did you think? did you like my gift?~"

"what gift?" you deadpanned, more focused on picking out something to eat than whatever he was talking about.

"huh?! what do you mean what gift?! the one i left on your desk? the lego set??" he gasped. you paused, your eyes widened in surprise as you turned to him, finally acknowledging what he was on about.

"that was you!?" you exclaimed. you cleared your throat, looking around to see if anyone heard your sudden loud response before facing him again in a now hushed tone

"that was you??" you repeated. he chuckled before he continued walking, expecting you to follow so you could continue taking a look at the food, avoiding attention and holding up any lines.

"yeah, it was me. I wanted to hand it to you in person but, I had an early meeting so I thought it might also be cool to leave you with a nice surprise for when you got back to your desk" he explained as he picked out something. you picked out something eat as well.

"i see...thank you" you nodded simply before going quiet. he sighed deeply at your reaction.

"....you don't like it" he stated. you immediately turned to him and shook your head.

"no no not at all. i really like it. i just...i'm confused? i don't really understand why you would do that? i mean, those botanical sets aren't exactly something you just pick up last minute you know?" you replied. his face broke into a soft amused smile. he slipped his hands into his pockets, his head faced down to his shoes for a moment before raising his head to look up at you from his black glasses. "well...." he started fixing his posture again with a turn before leading you both to the counter to pay

"....i noticed your desk is super empty. no photos, or plants or i dunno some sort of doodad. if you had just started here, I would have understood but, you've been working here a while and the most i've seen is a couple sticky notes and to do lists" he explained before turning to face you as you both stood in line.

"i guess...i just thought maybe I could get you a little something you might like to put there. something pretty, fun and unique.....like you." he smiled sheepishly. "Gojo...." you sighed, rolling your eyes because you really couldn't hide how amused and touched you were by his sudden thoughtfulness.

"that's....really nice of you. thank you" you smiled. getting to the counter, he included your meal, paying for both yours and his before you could say anything and leading you both to eat outside. "it was my pleasure~" he smiled.

he wishes he could say this was an act purely out of the kindness in his heart. it partially had to do with the feelings he was building for you that he simply refused to acknowledge but it was also a bit of a selfish act. as the only person who didn't treat him like the heir to the affluent family that owned the company you worked at or an up and coming tycoon, seeking to befriend him in an attempt to use him as a step ladder to immense influence and wealth, you were almost indifferent to it. you treated him like you would treat any of your other friends and colleagues.

so when he would walk by your office and see that your desk was constantly barren, holding no attachment or space meant you didn't want to get too comfortable. you would leave sooner or later, and he ran the risk of losing his only real friend here. so seeing that colourful set of blocks and pieces arranged and placed on your desk gave him hope that maybe this was enough to remind you of your friendship with him and just maybe enough to make you stay, even just a little longer.

a/n: this was extremely self-indulgent. like one of the fics i keep in my personal library, but i thought this would be cute to share. i was watching abott elementary and gregory gifting his gf the lego set inspired me i guess.