(A/N: MarySunshine1922, this one's for you! I hope this is kind of what you had in mind? Also, I'm so, so sorry about how late it is. Hopefully I'll have more chances to write now that summer break has started. Enjoy!)
It was a long, difficult day of selling.
You had originally thought that somehow, now that the strike was settled, the headlines would be better. Selling would be easier. More people would actually want to buy off of you now that you had proven yourselves a force to be reckoned with.
However, it seemed with the decline of The World, selling only seemed to get harder. At this rate, you figured you might actually have to eat the papers you couldn't pass off.
To make matters worse, your selling partner, Jojo de la Guerra, had been gone all day, not even stopping by for your usual lunch at Jacobi's. This had been the first time he had ever missed a lunch with you.
Which was why, as he appeared next to you while you were trying in vain to gain the pity of a passing rich couple, you didn't exactly offer a warm greeting.
"Heya, Y/n!" Jojo said happily, offering an exuberant smile.
You huffed in response to his unchanging attitude, stuffing the unsold paper into your bag with much more force than necessary. He could at least pretend to be sorry, You thought angrily. Ignoring your partner's look of complete confusion, you stepped off the curb of the street corner and started into the street, Jojo following at your heels like a lost puppy.
"Y/n? Whassamattah?" he trailed you to the end of the street, right across from Jacobi's. Following your gaze, the explanation seemed to hit him like a bat to the face. "Oh...." Jojo gave you a genuinely apologetic look, which almost made your anger dissipate. "I completely forgot-- I'm sorry." He pulled you into a tight hug, something you still hadn't gotten quite used to despite his frequent spontaneous embraces.
You returned the hug somewhat reluctantly, slipping out of his grasp after a few (slightly awkward) moments.
A beat.
"Good sellin', then?" You asked unnecessarily, gesturing at his empty paper bag.
Jojo nodded sheepishly and you noticed suddenly that he was blushing.
You had never realized how adorable that made him.
It wasn't long before a blush formed on your cheeks as well. Damn it. You thought. Who gave him permission to be this cute?
"Well, I uh...." The slight stutter, barely noticeable in his thick Brooklyn accent, snapped your attention back to the conversation at hand. "I'se gonna buy ya somethin' from the penny bakery down the block, okay? Its the least I can do aftah I was a conceited, inconsiderate--" You didn't know what on earth those words meant (and you were fairly certain Jojo didn't either) but you had a feeling they weren't words you would let anyone use to describe the amazing Jorgelino Josephino de la Guerra.
"Hush," you interrupted, placing a hand over Jojo's mouth, "You'se ain't conceited or incon-whatever-you-said, you just forgot. That's okay. It...." You sighed loudly, "It was my fault anyway."
"No it wasn't--"
"Shh! I can't let'cha pay for me, Jo, but I'd...." You felt the heat rise to your cheeks for the second time as you almost choked on your words. "I'd be happy to.... To go out with you, if that's what you'se offerin'."
Once you removed your hand from his mouth, Jojo's whole face lit up in a huge smile. "That was exactly what I'se offerin', doll." Taking your arm, he led you off down the street towards the bakery.
