tutor - k. baji

5

ONE MONTH LATER

you look at the time on your phone, sighing heavily.

it was the last time you and baji were meeting before he had an exam, and he was about a half an hour late. right as you were about to leave, he came rushing to you two's usual table.

"hey, sorry i had something come up."

"what the hell happened to you?"

his hair is in some kind of disheveled ponytail, sweat pinning some pieces to his forehead. his knuckles are bloody, and there's a pretty significant gash on one of his eyebrows, right above the beginnings of a black eye.

"i just said i had something come up." he glared, chest heaving as he tried to catch his breath.

you knew it had to be something toman related, looking him up and down.

"well, we don't have to study to-"

"no. the exam is tomorrow, i need to study."

"baji, you're breathing like you're gonna pass out and i don't even think you can see out of your left eye." you wince at the blood seeping into this eye.

"i'll be fine."

"i'm not helping you study anything while you're like this."

he lets out a growl, rolling his eyes.

"we don't meet here for you to give a shit about my personal life."

"and we also don't meet here for you to act like a stubborn toddler, yet here you are." you cross your arms over your chest, not budging.

"so what do you want me to do (l/n)." he asks dryly, eyes half lidded.

"come on." you grab his wrist, towing him in the direction of your dorm. his eyes widen, opening his mouth to object but ultimately not saying anything.

what the hell am i doing?

you push your thoughts away, running on pure impulse with a side of adrenaline.

you dig your lanyard from your backpack, baji watching your with wonderment.

"mikey, if you're in there get the hell out now!"

"you and mikey roommates or something?" he groans, a pain in his ribs beginning to set in.

"no, he's just a nosy idiot who knows how to pick a lock."

thankfully, your dorm is empty when you open the door.

"sit." you point you your desk chair, turning on the light in your bathroom.

what. the. hell. are. you. doing ?!

you take a deep breath, staring at your own reflection for a moment. the only people's injuries you slightly cared about were mikey and draken's, and it took you a long time to be comfortable with that. you'd known baji for a month, yet he was sitting in your desk chair at your demand.

you reach under your sink, pulling out some basic wound dressing supplies and draping a few wash cloths over your shoulder.

"what are you doing?"

"your notes won't be much use to you if they have blood on them."

you soak a cotton pad in rubbing alcohol, bringing it to one of his hands. he hisses in pain, pulling his hand away.

"what the fuck is that?!"

"do you not clean your cuts and shit when you get them?"

"no, i just let them scab over."

"yea, not happening. gimme your hand."

"(l/n), i'm fine."

"give me. your hand."

"tch." he glares at you, but obliges.

you carefully clean his knuckles on both hands, earning a few groans from him.

"why are you doing all this?"

"shut up, i don't know. let me focus."

he takes this as a chance to study your features a little more, unable to keep a small smile from creeping onto his face.

"won't be smiling so hard when i clean the one on your face." you bring a new cotton pad up to his eyebrow, making him wince.

and within 10 minutes, with the exception of the bruise forming on his eye, he's as cleaned up and bandaged as possible. his hair was in neater ponytail, giving you a full view of his face.

"now, i sure as hell don't feel like walking back to the library, so looks like we're studying here."

"thank you." he can't meet your eyes and his statement is quiet, but you hear him clearly.

obviously, his friends always made sure he was okay after a fight, took him to get medical attention when he needed it. but, he'd never had someone be so attentive to his wounds and take on such personal responsibility in dressing them. he knew his mom would if he asked, but he wouldn't dare bring that kind of stress to her.

"okay so, polyatomic ions."

he listens to you talk with a faraway look in his eyes, your voice fading away.

"hey, earth to baji?"

"shit, you were saying?"

"you weren't listening to anything i said? christ, it's like you want to fail tomorrow."

the usual two hours, give or take, goes by filled with practice questions and corrections. but, baji is actually answering a lot more questions right the first time around.

"well, you probably won't do awful on your exam tomorrow."

"you just don't wanna admit that i'm smart now."

"i wouldn't go there just yet einstein."

he looks down at the notebook, chuckling as his eyes scan over the problems.

"i'll make a deal with you."

"what?"

"if i get a... 75, or better on my exam tomorrow, you have to let me take you on a date."

your eyes widen, searching his features to see if he's joking.

"did mikey put you up to this? or draken?"

"what the hell?"

"or someone else from toman? like, you're not fucking joking are you?"

"bold of you to assume i have the brains to plan something like that even if i wanted to."

"make it an 80."

"deal." you two shake hands, a goofy grin filling his face.

——

i'm having so much fun writing this lol i hope y'all are enjoying reading it just as much

shit is gonna get real soon, buckle up hehe

don't forget to vote and comment! :)