starmyu one-shots ✨

Kuga Shu x Reader - Meant To Be [AU]

Y/N L/N stared at the blinking cursor on her laptop screen, a mocking reminder of her creative drought. The deadlines weren't looming—because there were none. Freelancing was supposed to offer freedom, but lately, it felt like a cage. And then there were her parents.

"Why can't you find a nice man and settle down?" 
"Don't you think it's time to move out?" 

The endless nagging had become a loop in her head, an irritating track she couldn't switch off. 

She sighed and looked around her cozy apartment. It was small, cluttered with books and half-finished sketches, but it was hers. She just wished her parents would let her live her life in peace. 

A knock on the door broke her thoughts. She didn't have to ask who it was; only one person knocked like that—sharp and impatient. 

"Coming, Shu!" she called, dragging herself up. 

Kuga Shu, her best friend since they were kids, leaned against the doorframe with a casual smirk. His dark hair was messy, his glasses slightly askew, and he held two cans of beer. 

"Figured you'd need this," he said, handing her one. "You sounded pretty defeated on the phone earlier." 

"Defeated is putting it lightly," she muttered, stepping aside to let him in. 

Shu dropped onto her couch like he owned the place, his long legs stretched out, his tie loosened from work. He was the polar opposite of Y/N—a stable corporate job, neatly pressed shirts, and a family that also wouldn't stop harping on marriage. 

"So, what's the latest from your parents?" Shu asked, popping his beer open. 

"Oh, the usual," Y/N replied, sinking into the armchair across from him. "Get married, have kids, move out. They're acting like I'm a hermit or something." 

Shu laughed, though it didn't quite reach his eyes. "Yeah, tell me about it. My mom sent me a list of prospective brides last week. She's serious this time." 

Y/N snorted. "I can't even get through one blind date without wanting to crawl under the table. How do they expect us to just...do this?" 

There was a pause as they both sipped their beers, a familiar silence settling between them. It was the kind of silence that only years of friendship could create—comfortable, unpressured. 

And then, out of nowhere, Y/N said it. 

"Maybe we should just get married to shut them up." 

The words left her mouth before she could think, and she froze. She looked at Shu, expecting him to laugh and brush it off as the joke it obviously was. 

But he didn't. 

Instead, he set his beer down and looked at her, his dark eyes unreadable. "You're serious?" 

"Wha—no! I mean, I was kidding!" she stammered, heat rushing to her face. "I didn't mean it like that. I just—" 

"I think it's a good idea." 

Y/N blinked. "You...what?" 

"I mean, it makes sense," Shu said, leaning forward. "We're already close. We know each other better than anyone else. And it would get both of our parents off our backs." 

She stared at him, her heart pounding in her chest. "Shu, you can't be serious." 

"Why not?" he countered, his tone calm but firm. "We've been through everything together. If I'm going to spend the rest of my life with someone, I'd rather it be you."