Work Text:
You didn’t stand out much when you were attending university. And you preferred it to be that way. Being in a new environment, with new people, with new studies, you weren’t exactly prepared for any of it. So whenever you went to class you either put in a lot of effort trying to talk with someone...anyone; or you opted to just silently get by.
While at first you had thought it would be a fun idea, you realized very quickly that you hated your elective: animal biology. Originally, you were going to take the course with some of your friends, but in the end they had to take other courses to meet their schooling requirements and since it was too late to find another available course, you were stuck.
The first couple of weeks weren’t horrible per say, but you were definitely confused, and now that you had no friends in the class, you only had two options: make new ones or suffer alone.
You looked around the class quickly, scanning the students for someone who seemed approachable. Eventually you turned your attention back to the professor and sighed, suffering alone it is…
You diligently took notes, trying your best to succeed in the course. There was no way you were about to get a mark lower than a B+ in your elective. But as class came to an end, you were struck with the realization that this was probably going to be the worst course of your semester.
Feeling defeated, you packed your bag and got ready to go study at a nearby cafe. You sent a quick text to your friends to let them know where you were and shoved your headphones into your ears to get to work.
After working for what felt like hours, you leaned back in your chair and stretched as your friends came into the cafe to study with you. You glanced around the cafe, noticing that it had filled up quite a lot since you first got here.
Surprisingly, there was one man that you noticed who had been here around the same time as you. You smiled when he ruffled his hair in visible frustration with whatever he was working on. With exam season coming up, there were assignments and test due dates nearly every day. You couldn’t help but laugh softly when the man’s dark hair stuck out in all directions.
He glanced up, his gaze eventually fell onto you and like a deer caught in headlights, you froze. You quickly snapped out of your trance and glued your eyes to your laptop screen, your heart racing as you tried to resist the temptation to look up again. You knew he was staring at you, you could feel the hard stare in your direction. You felt the heat rise to your cheeks in embarrassment as you went back to studying.
The atmosphere cleared up when your friends sat down after buying their drinks. You asked them for help and tried to give them pointers in some of their classes and soon enough, you forgot about the whole awkward exchange you had with the man earlier.
The next time you went to your animal biology course, you sat near the back, not wanting to be noticed by the professor. From your seat near the top of the lecture hall, you saw that same man again. You stared at him curiously, watching as he typed his notes quickly on his laptop and wrote in his notebook whenever there was additional information.
He seemed pretty put together. At least compared to you. When class ended, you made your way to the usual cafe and noticed that he was going the same direction. You both sat in the same seats as last time.
You pretended that you didn’t see him, but he already seemed to have taken note of you. His eyes followed you for a moment before focusing back on his work. This pattern continued for a week or so until your midterm exam.
You sat in class, looking like a mess. You studied incredibly hard for animal biology, knowing that if you didn’t, your exam would literally manifest itself into an eight foot tall man and kick your ass. You watched as they passed down a pile of exams for each student to take. Your heart was racing, you took out your pencil and eraser and prayed to anyone to make this exam go well.
“Hey…exams.”
You quickly went to grab the pile of exams and noticed that it was that same student again. He looked at you expectantly, slight dark circles under his eyes. He nudged the exams towards you again.
“Oh! Yes, sorry. And thanks.” You took an exam and passed down the rest.
The exam went horribly. You didn’t even realize how fast the time was going by until the professor announced that there was ten minutes left. You scrambled to finish, trying not to panic in your seat. After you handed in your exam, you grabbed your things and decided to head over to the cafe to start your other assignments. There was no point in being sad over the exam now.
But you were still sad.
When you got to the cafe, you noticed that the other man was already there. Being stuck in your miserable hole, you decided today was the day you would at least talk to him.
“Hi…”
He looked up from his textbook, his reading glasses slipping down his nose. He didn’t greet you back but raised his eyebrow as if to tell you to continue.
“You’re in animal biology, right? I’ve seen you around here and there and I just...I was wondering how you felt about that exam.”
“It was fine.” He replied cautiously.
You laughed nervously, he wasn’t very talkative, “Um...to be quite honest, I struggled a lot and I was wondering if you could help me out, if that’s alright.”
He pursed his lips as he pushed his glasses up, “Sure. I’m Jotaro.”
“Y/N, thank you so much. Do you mind if I sit with you? I have a lot of questions, unfortunately.”
Jotaro tilted his head slightly, “I’ll move to your table. It has an outlet to charge our stuff.”
“Sounds great! Thank you, thank you, thank you! I’ll treat you to coffee, lunch, anything.”
He laughed a little, “Well, first let me try to help you and if you learn something, then we can think about getting lunch together.”
Jotaro being a life savior was an understatement. He was clear and concise, spoke very little but got the point across so well. You stared in awe at your notes as he pointed out how you could make them more efficient.
“This is amazing,” You muttered, “I don’t get it. Why can’t our prof just explain it this way?”
Jotaro shrugged, “Maybe his age is getting to him.”
You laughed wholeheartedly, “Maybe you’re right.”
Your study sessions with Jotaro became more frequent. He wasn’t very sociable but you didn’t mind being the one to take that first step forward. When you got to class, you started sitting beside him more often, asking him quick questions occasionally. Eventually, he started passing you small sticky notes in class with important details that you usually missed.
You felt much better about the following midterm. You started hanging out with Jotaro more often, you ate together, went out for coffee together, you even ended up introducing him to your friends.
He didn’t seem too keen on getting along with your bubbly friends so you usually opted to having quiet study sessions with him privately. You didn’t mind. You saw your friends all the time, and you really needed Jotaro’s help.
When the semester came to an end, you realized that you probably wouldn’t have an excuse to see Jotaro often anymore. A part of you felt upset, you really liked being able to spend time with him.
You walked out of the exam hall, feeling tired after the brutal final exam. Jotaro was waiting outside for you, scrolling through his cellphone.
“You got out early?” You asked as you approached him, “How did it go?”
Jotaro smiled slightly, “Yeah, it wasn’t too bad. I really like animal biology so it breezed by for me. How about you?”
You sighed in defeat, “Well...I don’t think I did terrible but I don’t feel great either.”
“Mm,” Jotaro fiddled with his cellphone a little, “do you want to go out for lunch?”
“Whoa, are you seriously asking me first? I always have to drag you along with me.”
“Shut it, I’m being nice for once.” Jotaro hung his bag over his shoulder as you both started your short walk to the nearest restaurant.
You sat with him at the usual university bar. The food was adequate for its price, as most university bars were. You filtered through a basket of fries, talking to Jotaro about how your friend had slipped in front of the bus stop last week and you laughed so hard that you ended up slipping with her.
He listened to you wordlessly. Over the past couple of months, you had learned that Jotaro was in fact, an attentive listener. He just didn’t seem like it.
“And then?” Jotaro asked.
“And then what? We slipped and embarrassed ourselves in public, what else is there to say about that?” You laughed as you took a sip of your milkshake.
“You didn’t get hurt though, right?”
“Oh…” You felt your heart flutter at his concern, “I’m alright. Thanks for asking.”
A dull silence fell over you. Suddenly, you weren’t really sure what to say. You were always the one who kept the conversation going but your mind had blanked. You stared at the basket of fries.
Jotaro rested his chin against his hand as he watched you, “Are you going home for the winter break?”
“Yeah, my parents want me to come down for a bit before the next semester starts. I’m not that excited to tell them about how I’m struggling. What about you?”
“I don’t live too far from the university, I just moved into student housing because my house is in the middle of nowhere. It also doesn’t help that I live with my grandparents so the house gets a little loud sometimes.”
“It's very sweet that you live with your grandparents though. They get to see you often.” You waited for a waitress to grab your empty plates before paying for your meal.
Jotaro walked you to your apartment since both of you didn’t have any more classes and you had to get packing. The cold air was crisp and sharp against your cheeks, you glanced at Jotaro who nuzzled his face into his scarf.
“Want to come in for some tea? You can warm up a little before you go.”
“I don’t want to impose.”
“I wouldn’t have invited you if you were, idiot.” You unlocked the door and motioned for him to come in.
Jotaro cracked a slight smile, “Right, that’s true.”
He sat awkwardly on the small chair in the living room as you boiled some water. You climbed the counter to reach for the coffees and teas and gave Jotaro way too many options. As you were about the climb onto the counter again to put the extra packets back, Jotaro got up and stopped you.
“You’re gonna hurt yourself one day doing that. Just get a stool or a chair.”
“Yeah but then I have to go pick up the chair.”
He grabbed the extra packets of tea and hovered over you as he tossed them back into the cupboard, “There, no chair and no climbing on the counter. Problem solved.”
“Imagine being tall.” You scoffed as you poured the hot water into the cups.
“I don’t have to imagine it.”
You shoved Jotaro lightly as you handed him his cup. You leaned against the kitchen counter, your fingers lightly tapping the cup, “Well...I guess I won’t see you as often next semester, we won’t have any classes together.”
“We could still study together,” Jotaro said, “you’re good company.”
“Oh, really? I don’t bother you with my endless talking?”
“I wouldn’t have said it if I didn’t mean it, idiot.” Jotaro pointed out, mimicking your tone from earlier when you had invited him inside.
You rolled your eyes, smiling at him as you handed him your cellphone, “I need your number then so I can send you those ‘are you on campus’ texts.”
Jotaro punched in his number as he finished his tea, “I should head home, I’ll miss my bus.”
“Yes, of course! Get home safe and I’ll see you in the new year!”
He gave you a shy wave as he left your apartment and not even ten minutes later you sent you a small text so that you could save his number.
You texted back and forth with him a couple of times over the winter break. He talked about his family a little and sent photos occasionally of what he was doing or eating. You were fond of Jotaro. His calm demeanor, his intelligence, the way he joked around at unexpected moments; you found yourself growing to like him more and more.
But it wasn’t something that you even thought of acting upon. Being his friend was already amazing as is, you weren’t about to mess it up.
Jotaro: Happy New Year.
You tore your eyes away from the TV screen as you watched the countdown marking the beginning of another new year. It was such a short, brief text, but it was enough to make you giddy. You quickly texted back.
Y/N: Happy new year! Any big plans tonight?
Jotaro: My friends dragged me out to a bar.
You felt your heart clench at his text. You pursed your lips as you tried to think of what to say. You typed out a message before deleting it and attempting to type out another message. Another text from Jotaro arrived while you were struggling to answer him. You stared dumbfounded and laughed to yourself in your room.
Jotaro: I hate it here.
Not even a moment later, another text rolled in.
Jotaro: Wish you could be here.
You felt the heat rise to your cheeks as you thought of Jotaro spending a fun night out with his friends but here he was, thinking of you. You bit your lips, trying to hide your smile.
Y/N: We’ll see each other soon.
When you got back to school in January, the first thing you did was go out for coffee with Jotaro. He paid for your coffee, telling you that you could get it next time before sitting down at a table.
You told him everything about your winter break, about your friends back home, about your family. He listened with a gentle smile on his face, sipping at his coffee.
You continued to see him at least twice a week to either study together or to simply chat. It was a nice routine and slowly your feelings for him grew little by little. You sat face to face with him at the usual cafe, glancing at him from time to time to admire his features.
His eyes met yours, filling your vision with the colors of the ocean. He smirked slightly when you averted your gaze. Jotaro leaned forward across the table, trying to catch your eyes.
“Say, when you first saw me at this cafe you did the same thing. Why were you laughing that day?”
You drew in a sharp breath, embarrassment washing over you, “Ah, you remember that?”
“Well? What was so funny?”
You laughed slightly, “You were working on something and you messed up your hair, it was really funny.”
“Really?”
“Yeah,” You ran your fingers through your hair demonstrating what it looked like, “it was sticking out all over the place. You looked like a sea urchin.”
Surprisingly, that got a genuine laugh out of Jotaro. He put down his coffee, absentmindedly touching his hair, “I usually wear hats but at university I felt like I would stand out if I wore one.”
You nodded, “Oh, you definitely would.”
Jotaro looked around the cafe before clenching his fists. You knew that was a sign that he had something he wanted to say but wasn’t sure whether this was the right time or place.
“What?”
Jotaro met your gaze, “Hm?”
“You have something you want to say, don’t you?” You leaned back in your chair, giving him a smug look, “I know you better than you think. Tell me.”
“How can you tell? That I have something I want to tell you.”
“You do this thing with your eyes and then you get all tense…” You sighed, “I can just tell, ok?”
Jotaro smiled, “Ok, you’re right.”
He crossed his legs, trying to seem calm but you could tell he was anxious by the way his leg shook.
“Y/N.”
“Yes?”
“I like you.”
Your eyes widened, a little shocked that he had confessed first. It had been so simple and straightforward. You smiled wide when you saw the pink hue rise to his cheeks. Blush looked good on him.
You leaned across the table, pulling him a little closer. The way his ocean eyes softened when he looked at you, his hand closing over yours, engulfing them with warmth, the smell of his cologne. You gave him a brief kiss on his cheek.
“Say it again, Jotaro.”
His heart was racing although he would say otherwise. He grabbed your hand more tightly as he calmed his nerves. Over the past couple of months, he had grown to love your company. He loved how you saw beauty in so many things, how you got irritated over small issues but quickly got over them, how you cared for all of your friends. It was all beautiful to him.
“I like you, Y/N.”