𝕵𝖊𝖆𝖑𝖔𝖚𝖘𝖞 𝕲𝖆𝖒𝖊 | 𝕮𝖍𝖔𝖘𝖔 𝖝 𝕽𝖊𝖆𝖉𝖊𝖗 |

Chapter 22 | Sweetness

You begin to stir in your sleep as sunlight starts to pour through the curtains of your bedroom. Your (favorite color) bed sheets rustle as you turn to your side, resting your head on the warm surface of what feels like someone's chest, rising and falling in sync with your own breathing.

You open your eyes just a peek, immediately being greeted by the morning rays of sunshine. You flutter your eyes open as you adjust to the light. A pale yet handsome figure with a black mark on his nose and messy black hair comes into view.

Choso had spent the night with you.

"Good morning, pretty lady." He purrs at you, his voice raspy from having gotten up not too long before you. Choso turns on his side, resting his head on the palm of his hand and giving you his full attention. He places the palm of his other hand upon your cheek, the tips of his fingers weaving through strands of your hair.

"Hey.." You reply groggily back at him with a tired smile, rubbing the sleep from your eyes. "What time is it?"

"It's well into the afternoon." He answers and reaches over to check his phone. "A little past 1 pm."

"Shit- I'm sorry." You say, frantically pushing yourself up off your pillow as you realize the time, fearing that you've kept him for too long. "Let me make you a coffee-"

"Not so fast." He mutters.

Before you can even swing your legs over the edge of the bed, you feel Choso's hand clasp around your wrist. He swiftly tugs you back into bed and throws the covers over you. A shy smile creeps onto your face as you give in and curl in closer to him. A serene moment of silence falls over the two of you as you delve into the present.

You soak up the bright yellow rays seeping through the curtains and study the handsome, raven-haired man that lies peacefully next to you. You watch as his eyes scan you, glancing down from your eyes to your lips and then back up.

"So, about what you said yesterday." Choso murmurs, breaking the silence and staring at you deeply. "I don't want you to think that I don't want to get to know you better- I do."

You sense truth in his words but there's just a smidge of hesitance. Not towards his claim of wanting to know you, but more towards him revealing information about himself.

"There's no rush." You tell him, offering him a reassuring smile.

"Do you work tonight?" He asks, quickly changing the subject. It seems as though something has crossed his mind.

"In the evening, I get off at 10 pm tonight." You explain.

"Come over to my place after you get off." He says with a nod. "We can talk then."

You nod back and he gives you a smile. As he pushes himself up to sit up straight, the comforter falls to his waist, revealing his clear cut and toned upper body. The sight brings red heat to your cheeks, you can't help but stare. Choso snorts, snatching you back into reality.

"Gawking." He comments sassily, calling you out with a smirk.

"Who wouldn't?" You retort, rolling your eyes and turning over, pulling the blanket over your head as if to hide.

Before you can completely get your body to face the other way, Choso snakes an arm around your waist, pulling you back over. He peels the blanket off of you and you look up to see him leaning over you with a content look on his face.

"I have to run a couple of errands." He says with a sigh. "But I'll see you tonight."

He hovers closer and places his lips upon yours, giving you a sweet and slow kiss before he pulls away to get dressed.

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While you take the interim between now and work to relax and take care of yourself, Choso heads a couple doors down back to his apartment. He stops at the railing in front of his door and reaches in his pocket for his half-finished pack of cigarettes. He slides one out and places it between his lips. With one hand protecting the end from the slight breeze, the other flicks the lighter until it sparks and the end catches fire.

With one inhale, Choso relaxes and slips a hand into his back pocket. He takes the cigarette between his fingers and audibly sighs out the smoke. He leans forward and crosses his arms over the top of the railing.

Steamy flashbacks from the night that you shared with him flip through his mind, bringing a satisfied smile to his face. He hums to himself and stands up straight. He raises his arms to the sky, stretching out his shoulders and his back.

Suddenly, a buzz in his pocket interrupts his peace. He grabs his phone, secretly hoping it's you even though he just left your place, but the screen reads a different name.

Y. T. Sent a message

Choso huffs and places the cigarette between his lips. He leans forward again staring sternly down at his phone.

Y: Hiii sweetness~ Mind if I come over today?

Choso slouches his shoulders and tilts his head back with frustration. After a moment of thinking he looks back at his screen as his thumbs quickly move across the tiny keyboard. A conversation begins shortly after Choso gave his reply.

C: No. And don't call me that.

Though it's only a short conversation through text, Choso's words cut sharp, highly contrasting her playful tone. 

Y: No as in you don't mind?

C: No as in I don't want you to.

Y: What changed?

C: Yuki. Stop.

Suddenly, to his surprise the messages do stop for a moment and the chat bubble disappears. Choso's shoulders begin to relax again but just as he thinks he's escaped, another message swooshes to his phone.

Y: Are you still mad?

Choso's thumbs hesitate as they hover over the keyboard.

C: It was months ago. No.

He never thought to tell you but Choso was almost in the same boat as you were when the two of you met. He was longing for someone who didn't quite see him the way he wanted her to. The same blonde-headed woman you saw him smoking with outside of his apartment, was the woman who had ditched him for some older, rich guy who lived in Kyoto the exact night that Gojo left you at your doorstep. And the night that you first laid eyes on him. 

But, just like your feelings for Gojo had faded, his for Yuki did the same. Yet, seeing her name pop up on his phone still manages to pluck the right nerve at the right time. She always had a way of getting under his skin, and she knew that he'd always let her get away with it. To him, though, this time was going to be different.

Y: So then let me come over.