Chapter Text
“Take this to next door, baby,” your mom said cheerfully, setting a still warm pie into your hands. “just moved in yesterday. seems like a man living alone. be polite, okay?”
You blinked at her, not in a mood to run for errands right now. “me?”
“Yes, you. now, don’t pout,” she scolded lightly, then grinned. “just go.”
You rolled your eyes, clutching the warm tin awkwardly to your chest. You didn’t think much of it, just another errand, until you walked up to the house next door and knocked on the dark wooden door, heart pattering slightly for no reason at all. And then it opened.
The man standing in front of you looked like the kind of mistake people make on purpose. His hair was dark and slightly tousled, still damp from sleep. Short sleeve black shirt clung to the cut of his arms, stretching across broad shoulders, his chest visibly rising and falling with each drowsy breath. He looked… rough. Rugged. Dangerous, even. And yet the heavy lidded expression on his face, the husky croak in his voice, made your knees lock together.
“Yes?” he murmured in a sleepy voice, rubbing the back of his neck. “can I help you?”
Your lips parted, but no words came out right away. You swallowed, as you lifted the pie with trembling hands.
“Uhh… my mom made this. said I should give it to you. welcome to the neighborhood…”
He blinked down at the pie, then at you, his gaze slow and unreadable. “pie, huh?” he smiled a little. “that’s sweet of her.”
You felt a strange flutter in your stomach. His voice wasn’t unkind, but there was something distant in it. Not cold, just controlled.
“Name's toji,” he said finally. “toji fushiguro. you’re…?”
“Y/n,” you said softly, then added quickly, “I live next door.”
"Oh.... what do you do?"
"I'm in college."
That made him raise an eyebrow, and you almost wished you hadn’t said anything.
“Still in college?” he asked, taking the pie from your hands.
“Yeah.”
"You look rather.... mature."
Your heart did a strange flip. Didn’t know why, but the way he said that with a teasing drawl, made you feel something in best and worst ways. You bit your lip and nodded. “I-I’m not that old.”
He chuckled and opened the door a little wider and gestured inside. “come in for a sec. can’t just take a pie without a proper ‘thank you’.”
The house behind him smelled of soap, leather, and faint cologne. You hesitated on the doorstep, nerves flaring. You shouldn't. You really shouldn't be walking into a stranger's house just because he held the door open and invited. And yet your feet moved before your brain could come up with a single reasonable objection. Clearly, your survival instincts were those of a rock.
The place was surprisingly neat. Dark furniture. A worn leather couch. A set of weights tucked into the corner. Through the doorway, you spotted a punching bag hanging from the ceiling of another room. Your eyes widened slightly.
“Do you box or something?” you asked, voice small.
“Sometimes,” he said casually, setting the pie on the counter and grabbing two glasses. “used to do all sorts of things. now I mostly stay low.”
He disappeared into the kitchen with the glasses, leaving you standing alone in the middle of his living room. For a moment, you stood awkwardly in there, clasping your hands in front of you like a kid in trouble. But your curiosity got the better of you. You leaned slightly, peeking your head toward the kitchen.
A few seconds later, Toji appeared again, holding two glasses filled with what looked like apple juice.
“You said you’re in college?” he asked, handing you a glass and settling on the couch, legs wide apart.
You nodded, sitting on the edge of the couch across from him. “yeah. just finished third year.…”
He gave a low hum, watching you. “you nervous?”
You flushed, shaking your head in denial. “no! I mean… yeah, just a little.”
"Why?" Toji asked, one brow lifting.
You shifted in your seat. "I don't know... just—"
A slow grin tugged at the corner of his mouth. "I don't bite."
His gaze swept over you from head to toe, lazy and amused. Heat rushed straight to your face. "no, that's not what I—"
The words barely left your mouth before a chuckle rumbled out of him. "relax, kid," he leaned back against the couch. "just messin' with you."
Which somehow only made your embarrassment worse.
The room was quiet for a moment, something unspoken hung between you, and for the life of you, you couldn’t figure out if you were just imagining it.
He was older. Wiser. And you? just a dumb thing. You didn't know the first thing about men. How to talk to them. What questions you were supposed to ask. What counted as flirting and what was just being friendly. And you definitely didn't know how to stop staring at his arms.
The silence stretched on for a second too long. It was awkward. Painfully awkward. So naturally, instead of keeping your mouth shut, you decided to break it with what was probably the stupidest question you could've asked.
"Your wife didn't move with you?"
The question tumbled out before you could bite it back. Toji’s sharp gaze flicked over to you, eyes narrowing in quiet amusement.
“Wife?” he echoed in a rough voice.
You gestured vaguely toward the house. “I thought… most people don’t move into a whole house by themselves.”
That earned you a look. “that your way of asking if I’m married, sweetheart?”
Your face went hot in an instant. “nooo!”
“Mmhhm.”
“It wasn’t,” you insisted, mortified of the whole situation.
“Sure it wasn’t.”
You stared down into your glass, wishing you could disappear. God, the man was such a mean tease. That hadn’t been your intention at all… or had it? The thought made your stomach twist in the most embarrassing way.
“So… are you?” you muttered, barely audible.
“Am I what?”
“Married.”
“Nope.”
The answer came out easy, no hesitation, nor any weight behind it. And now that you were really looking, there was no ring on his finger either.
“Ohh.... okayy...”
His eyes narrowed just a fraction, pinning you in place. “what?”
“Nothing.”
“Didn’t sound like nothing.”
You hated how easily he read you. You shrugged, trying to play it cool even as your pulse hammered. “I just figured someone like you wouldn’t have any trouble finding a wife.”
A bark of laughter escaped him, deep and genuine, and you wanted the floor to open up and swallow you whole.
Shit. Out of everything you could’ve said... that definitely sounded like flirting. You know how you'd thought asking if he had a wife was a little too embarrassing? Well. Scratch that. This apparently topped it.This was officially the stupidest thing to ever come out of your mouth. You couldn't help but pray he didn’t think you were some desperate little weirdo.
“That’s not what I meant,” you rushed out.
“Of course it wasn’t, kid,” he drawled, that smirk lingering like he was enjoying how you looked right now.
Honestly, you couldn't with this man. Why did he always have a reply for everything? Every time you opened your mouth, he somehow managed to say something that made you want to immediately shut it again.
"I hope I'm not bothering you," you muttered, looking just about anywhere but at him.
Toji gave you a look that made your heart skip, as if it wasn't like that ever since you stepped inside his house.
“You’re not,” he said simply. “It’s nice to have someone drop by who’s not trying to sell me internet or ask for donations.”
That made you giggle, and his eyes lingered on you a beat longer. The phone buzzed in your lap. A text from your mom: “come back when you’re done. we need to get groceries.”
You stood quickly. “ah—sorry, I should go. mom’s waiting…”
Toji stood as well, towering over you as he walked you to the door. His hand rested lightly against your lower back. Gentle and steadying but it burned through the thin fabric of your clothes.
“Thanks for the pie,” he said softly, opening the door for you.
You stepped out into the sunlight, heart pounding harder than it should, turning to look up at him one last time. “you’re welcome…”
He gave you a nod, gaze unreadable again. “see you around, kid.”
You turned away before he could see how flushed you looked or the small, helpless smile that bloomed as you walked back home, warm and confused and strangely giddy.
You’d only just met Toji Fushiguro. But something told you this wouldn’t be the last time.