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Fuyuhiko Kuzuryu- known as the ultimate Yakuza lived next door to you in the apartment complex that you lived at.
You felt a bit scared every time he was around you. Even though the young Yakuza was 5’1 (157 cm) and had what other people called a “baby face”, he was pretty intimidating. He would be a bit harsh too, with a mouth like a sailor that had a slight bitterness to it whenever he would snap at anyone who messed with him. Or just ticked him off in general.
You might’ve had a small crush on him for some time too. But the feelings would seem to shrink whenever you would see the same long, silver haired woman come visit next door.
You introduced yourself to her once, learning that her name was Peko Pekoyama. Apparently she had an ultimate talent as well- the ultimate swordswoman. You didn’t learn anything else from that first interaction, other than that Peko didn’t really show off any emotions while having a strong demeanor. But you were still friendly towards her.
Since then, you’d introduce yourself every time you saw Peko in the halls, welcoming her with a smile. Sometimes, the two of you would strike up a short conversation until she would politely excuse herself to retreat inside Fuyuhiko’s apartment.
And that’s how you basically learned information about Fuyuhiko slowly, even though Peko wouldn’t go into a crazy amount of details or anything.
But you wondered why she would visit Fuyuhiko so much. You figured that they were a couple of some sort. Or maybe since Fuyuhiko was the heir of the clan, the two of them discussed more private matters that related to it. In the end, you figured that you shouldn’t put your nose in other people’s personal life.
Still, a man at such a young age was the heir of a mafia group. There must be a lot on Fuyuhiko’s plate, knowing that you’ve only really seen him in person once or twice outside of your apartment. And for some reason, it was only at the mailbox. Nowhere else.
Whenever you had the chance, you’d glance once or twice over to him, seeing him have the same intimidating gaze while looking at his mail. And for some reason, it made you feel a bit uneasy with a mixture of attraction? You weren’t really sure. What was worse was that one day, he caught you looking a few times, resulting in you looking away immediately before the two of you had the chance to lock eyes.
Damn, why’d he have to be so intimidating? And.. cute.
Ever since that day, you haven’t looked or even seen the Yakuza.
Except for today
-
Sitting in a lounge chair in the living room with the patio window cracked slightly open, allowing a slight breeze to come through, you decided to start back up on a book you were reading. The comfort of silence made it easy for you to keep focus. That is, until you started to hear muffled yelling from next door.
“Again?” You groaned, closing your book shut in frustration as you averted your gaze to the blank white wall. “This is the third time this week.” You groaned as you placed your book down next to you into the chair.
Once you sat up, you walked over towards the door. Reaching for the door knob, you froze once you heard the muffledness of footsteps stomp in out of the room next door, with the slam of a door following suit. Some more yelling erupted soon after, with even more footsteps until it was silent again.
Standing there, you could hear someone cursing, possibly kicking? Maybe punching? The hallway wall right outside your door. You were scared to move, but you also wanted to know what was going on. But should it really be your business to know what was going on in the Yakuza’s life? Maybe. Maybe not.
But fuck it
Opening the door slowly, you took a quick peek through the small crack, seeing nobody else other than Fuyuhiko standing outside. He was breathing pretty heavily as his right fist clenched to his side. You could see a bit of blood trickle on his knuckles, especially on the two silver rings he wore on his fingers, staining them slightly.
Should you open the door even more? Is it… safe to do so? Things looked pretty complicated and intense at the moment, but you wanted to do at least something. You didn’t care if Fuyuhiko yelled or even scolded at you for approaching him at a bad time. But you needed to do something.
Opening the door, you stepped outside slowly as you left the latch on your door open so you were able to get back inside without a key. You noticed that there were 2 small holes in the wall, possibly from where Fuyuhiko punched it where his rings were the ones that made contact first rather than his whole hand.
“Fuyuhiko?” You spoke quietly, standing there awkwardly not knowing what to do.
“The fuck do you want?” Fuyuhiko snapped, resting a shoulder up against the wall, balancing himself as he gripped his injured hand.
“I- I just wanted to see if everything is alright.”
“Why the fuck do you care?” He gave you a sharp glare, his golden eyes pierced through you. “I don’t even think we’ve even introduced ourselves to one another. So how the fuck do you even know my name?”
Ouch.
“Well.. I’m y/n and I’ve lived next door to you for quite some time and-”
“Tch. No shit Sherlock.” Fuyuhiko snapped. “It’s clearly obvious that you live next door, or else you wouldn’t have walked out of that damn door!”
Damn… maybe this was a bad idea.
“Anyways, why are you even slightly worried about me? A person that you’ve never talked to in your life but would only for some reason take quick glances at once in a while at the fucking mailbox?!” Fuyuhiko snapped again.
You didn’t really know what to say as you stood there, feeling a bit… uncomfortable. He really was a harsh person, but you knew that you shouldn’t judge a book by it’s cover. He was intimidating, but you knew that there was at least some softness to him somewhere in that bitter heart of his.
“S-sorry.. I should just.. leave you be.” You slowly began to excuse yourself back into your apartment, until Fuyuhiko turned to close his apartment door before turning his attention towards you. You stopped once he stood in front of you, still gripping his injured hand.
“Before you go,” he looked down at his hand, averting his gaze up to you. “Do you mind helping me real quick?”
-
Removing the two bloody rings from Fuyuhiko’s hand, you sat them down onto the table, knowing that you’ll definitely clean them off afterwards. The two of you sat across from one another on the couch in the living room.
“Okay this is gonna sting a little.” You applied some hydrogen peroxide on a cotton ball before placing it down onto the open wounds on Fuyuhiko’s knuckles.
“Tch, please i've gone through- worse.” Fuyuhiko gritted through his teeth once you pressed down, wiping gently to remove some of the blood before wrapping his knuckles in gauze.
You packed the first aid kit away as you grabbed the two bloody rings. Standing up to go wash them in the kitchen sink, you made sure not to drop them down the drain as you washed them with soap and hot water, thinking that Fuyuhiko would be pissed that you lost his two possessions.
“Oh, I believe that you’ve gone through worse than that.” You said as you returned to the living room once the rings were properly washed and dried, placing them back down onto the table.
“How would you know?” Fuyuhiko stared at his hand before turning his attention to you, the same intimidating gaze from earlier pierced through you once more.
“Ah, well- I might’ve been told that you’re the ultimate Yakuza, and I might’ve been told that you’re the heir of your clan and-“
“Shut up.”
“I- what?”
“I said shut up!” Fuyuhiko slammed his injured fist down on the glass table. “Whoever the fuck told you that should’ve mind their own fucking business! Fuck!” Fuyuhiko clenched his injured hand as he winced in pain.
“But-“
Fuck. Should you really tell him that Peko was the one that told you this information? You’ve already opened your mouth, spilling the beans so there was no turning back.
“Peko was-“
“What about her!?” Fuyuhiko stood up, placing a hand down on the glass table. Giving you a very intense stare that was almost like he could kill you in an instant.
“I’ve talked to her a couple of times. Almost every time she would come visit, actually. She might’ve told me information about you but-“ you stopped to see Fuyuhiko’s face soften as he sat back down on the couch.
“Go on.” Fuyuhiko crossed his arms as he placed one leg over the other.
“She didn’t tell me much about you. Not any personal information about what the two of you do whenever she comes over. Not anything personal about you being a Yakuza.” You stared down at your hands. “That’s all.”
“Hm. I see.” Fuyuhiko looked to the side, “I’m surprised that she actually talks to you.” He snickered. “She usually doesn’t interact with others but,” Fuyuhiko smiled a bit. “It’s nice when she does. I tell her to live her life, to do other things than just working for me all the time.”
You felt a sigh of relief knowing that the two of them worked together and weren’t actually anything serious. Well, maybe. You still weren’t sure about that part yet, but it wasn’t really your place to butt yourself in.
“I grew up with her my whole life, living with me and my family until I finally moved out. And well, since I’m the heir of the clan, Peko stuck around since she’s been my bodyguard my whole life. I tell her all the time that she’s not a tool. She’s a human fucking being in the end of it.” Fuyuhiko picked at the gauze that was wrapped around his hand. “We all are.”
You sat in awe as you stared at the young man. It sounded like Peko meant a lot to him, possibly seeing her like family more than anything else. You still weren’t sure about that, but again it wasn’t your place to know everything in the man’s life.
“Anyways, if you’re wondering about what happened earlier, it wasn’t Peko I was arguing with.” Fuyuhiko continued to pick at his gauze. “It was my sister.”
You blinked, taking yourself out of your trance.
“Your sister?”
“Tch. Yeah.” Fuyuhiko crossed his arms in annoyance. “Wanting me to come home for my birthday.”
Oh?
“She may be the youngest, but that doesn’t mean I should listen to whatever she says because I’m the oldest. Maybe I don’t want to spend every single fucking birthday with my family.”
You could tell that there was an immediate annoyance in his voice.
“Ever since I was born, there has been nothing but chaos for every year that I get a little bit older. There’s always arguments between my parents, which then involves my sister getting dragged into it and then I get dragged in. It just- gets so fucking chaotic like I need a damn break for once!” Fuyuhiko clenched his hand on his arm. “Yeah I might be the damn heir, but I’m always busy and I feel like I need a damn break and to be alone for once!”
You sat there not knowing what to say in response once Fuyuhiko was done with his small rant. He really did just go out there and vent about his issues, but for some reason it sounded like he trusted you a bit? Maybe?
“How about spending it with me?” That was the only thing that could come out of your mouth without even having a second thought.
“W- what?” Fuyuhiko snapped his attention towards you, raising a brow.
“I- I mean you don’t have to.” You mumbled, possibly regretting opening your mouth. “I can see that you’re pretty stressed and you clearly don’t want to spend it with your family, including Peko. So I just figured-“
“I never said I didn’t want to spend it with Peko!” Fuyuhiko raised his voice. “I said I didn’t want to spend it with my family-“
“But you still want to be left alone. So that technically includes Peko.”
“Tch- That would include you too. So why the fuck did you even ask?” Fuyuhiko snapped.
“I- I just-“ A wave of embarrassment rushed over you as your cheeks flushed lightly.
“Forget it, I still have things that I need to take care of.” Fuyuhiko stood up to make his exit. “Just forget everything that I told you. Actually,” Fuyuhiko turned around to face you once he made it to the door. “Forget that we even met.” He then turned to make his exit, leaving you alone in silence as he forgot to pick up his rings.
Maybe he’ll be back to return them. Hopefully.
an hour later -
Sitting in the lounge chair again as you finally were able to read your book in silence, there was a slight knock on the door that interrupted you from your reading.
“Coming.” You closed your book shut, throwing it down on the chair as you sat up and walked towards the door.
Unlocking and opening the door, you stood there for a couple of seconds shocked.
“F- Fuyuhiko?” Your voice nearly cracked as you looked at the Yakuza standing outside your door.
“Hey so uh,” Fuyuhiko scratched the back of his head. “I forgot my rings from earlier, so I’d like to have those back.” He stood there awkwardly still as you went to retrieve them, handing them over.
“And um,” Fuyuhiko cleared his throat, shoving the two rings into his pants pocket. “I’ve been thinking about your offer and uh-“ He stood there awkwardly still for a moment, taking a deep breath and exhaling before speaking. “I’m sorry about how I treated you earlier but,” Fuyuhiko adjusted his tie nervously, averting his gaze to the side.
“I think I’d like to spend my birthday with you.”
-
The next few days went by in a blur and today was Fuyuhiko’s birthday. You had a few days to prepare, so you decided to decorate your apartment with a couple of streamers, balloons, and a birthday letter lanyard that spelled out “Happy Birthday Fuyuhiko.” That was placed across the wall in the living room.
You bought a couple of snacks as well. A fruit and vegetable tray, some chips and dip, tea, soda, coffee, etc.
But was this a bit.. too much? Just for the two of you? You weren’t really sure, but you thought that since Fuyuhiko was the Ultimate Yakuza, his family probably had giant extravagant parties for him. So technically, the decorations and food you got made it look like a baby planned it and not some rich snob. You hoped it was going to be enough though.
Now, the hardest part of this planning came to mind at the last minute. What kind of cake are you going to make?
You had boxes upon boxes of different cake mixes in the cabinet, but should you really make something from a box for the Ultimate Yakuza? Would he think it’s a bunch of swill? The man looked and dressed like he ate fancy, so maybe you should make a cake from scratch? Or maybe order a cake that’s already been made?
You slumped over the kitchen counter with your face in your hands, thinking pretty hard about this situation.
“Why did I wait until the last minute to think about this?” You groaned, pulling at your hair. “I get all the decorations and food but not a fucking cake?” You felt your eyes tear up in frustration.
You felt like giving up as you sat at the kitchen counter, resting your head on the cold marble.
Until a sudden knock on the door spooked you, making you raise your head up suddenly.
Fuck. It’s him.
You quickly scrambled as you nearly fell off the stool, closing any kitchen cabinets that were left open. You even checked your outfit at the last minute to see if it was appropriate for this event, but it was your own apartment so you basically wore whatever was comfortable for you. A pair of sweats and a hoodie.
Making sure your eyes weren’t still watery by wiping them quickly with the edge of your sleeve, you walked nervously towards the door.
Opening it slowly with a shaky hand, you greeted Fuyuhiko with a nervous smile.
Seeing him standing there, it surprised you that he wasn’t wearing the same striped suit and tie that he usually wore, but he still wore the two silver rings on his fingers. Actually, it was pretty odd to see him wearing a basic t-shirt and shorts. But you guessed that Yakuza’s can have comfortable clothing as well.
“Hey, you came.” You smiled.
“What? You thought I lied when I said I wanted to spend it with you?” Fuyuhiko shoved a hand into his pocket. “Anyways, you gonna let me in?”
“O- oh of course.” You stepped to the side to allow Fuyuhiko to walk by.
Once Fuyuhiko entered, you closed the door. Your heart raced with nervousness, feeling like it could pop out at any second.
Please be enough. Please be enough. Please be enough.
“Eh? You didn’t have to do all of this for me.” Fuyuhiko stood there dumbfounded by the decorations you had put up.
“I just wanted to make it special, that’s all.” There was nervousness in your voice as you walked past Fuyuhiko and turned to him. “I really hope this is all okay.” You played with your fingers nervously.
As Fuyuhiko stood there, his eyes darted around the room for a second until they stopped and observed the wall that had the lanyard that spelled out “Happy birthday Fuyuhiko.”
You could’ve swore that you saw a slight tint of blush appear on his cheeks. And you knew it wasn’t his permanent blush marks either.
“You- you-“ Fuyuhiko stammered, feeling a bit flustered as he tried to force words out of his mouth. Except he couldn’t figure out anything to say in this exact moment, so he continued to stand there as he stuffed both hands into his pockets awkwardly.
Your heart fluttered a bit in your chest, knowing that Fuyuhiko might’ve liked what you’ve done. Even though he couldn’t directly say it. But you felt anxious as hell.
“I got some snacks too if you’re interested.” You moved to the side to show Fuyuhiko the small table you had set up with the snacks and drinks that sat on top of it. There were a few paper plates, plastic silverware, and cups that sat on top of it as well.
“You’re welcome to have anything you like.”
Please don’t think it’s junk
Fuyuhiko turned to look at the table, his cheeks flushing even more.
Was he feeling… embarrassed? Flattered? He was quite hard to read honestly, and it made you feel even more anxious.
You thought he was looking at the table at first, until you realized that he was looking at you instead.
“Fuyuhiko? Is everything alright?” You asked, feeling concerned.
“I- I-“ Fuyuhiko stammered before averting his eyes to the side, the flush on his face spreading like crazy. “It’s- nice. Th- thank you.”
-
Finally settling down, the two of you grabbed whatever snacks and drinks of your choosing and ate in silence for a bit until Fuyuhiko spoke up out of the blue.
“I told Peko about this the other day,” Fuyuhiko picked at some of his celery that sat on his plate. “She was a bit iffy about it at first, knowing my family and all. But I told her that I didn’t care about what my family thought. I’m a grown ass man and I can do whatever the fuck I wanna do.” He sat his plate down on the table, reaching for his cup full of tea and took a sip.
“I even told her that for my birthday I wanted to spend it with you. And surprisingly,” he took another sip. “She was okay with it. Guess it’s because she knows you.” He turned to look at you, seeing that your cheeks were slightly flushed as you quickly shoved your cheeks full with chips.
“I’m still glad that you decided to accept my invitation to spend it with me.” You stuffed more chips into your mouth, hoping that he could ignore the fact that your face was practically on fire.
“Why would I say no?” Fuyuhiko raised a brow, taking another sip. “Okay, yeah I said no at first but only because I wasn’t really in the mood and didn’t give it that much thought.” He sat his cup down on the table. “And after I did, I figured that I didn’t want to be rude and say no. And to be honest, the thought of spending it alone in my apartment sounded boring.” He crossed his arms.
“Again, I’m glad you showed up. I was worried that you wouldn’t at first.” You finished up the rest of your food before setting the plate down on the table.
Averting your eyes towards Fuyuhiko’s injured hand.
“How’s your hand been?”
“Oh, this?” Fuyuhiko moved his arm, showing you his slightly healed knuckles.
The wounds that were bloody a few days ago were healed, but were now scabbing over. And the reddish bruises that were on his skin have now turned a bluish purple.
“It’s annoying and irritating as fuck having these scabs on it and I try not to pick at em but,” Fuyuhiko started to pick at the scabs, scratching them a bit with his fingernails. “They’re so fucking itchy and I hate it.”
Without having a second thought, you reached over and gently grabbed his hand. Placing his hand into your own, you removed the two rings- setting them down onto the table where you had them once before.
Maybe this time he’ll remember to take them before he leaves.
“Wh- what’re you doing?” Fuyuhiko gave you a stern look.
“I don’t know if this will help but,” You gently caressed your thumb over his knuckles, feeling his soft skin and rough scabs trace underneath. “I don’t want you to scratch them open. It’ll make the healing process take longer.” You continued to caress his knuckles slowly. “You’ll have some pretty cool scars though.” You chuckled.
Fuyuhiko sat there dumbfounded as he allowed you to caress his knuckles. He had the thought of yanking his hand away immediately, knowing that he doesn’t like being touched directly without permission. But in all honesty, this felt nice to him.
You didn’t notice, but Fuyuhiko smiled for the first time since meeting you.
-
Putting away whatever food/snacks that you had left over, Fuyuhiko gave you a confused look, wondering if you had any dessert or not.
“Hey, you don’t have any dessert? Something sweet or whatever?” Fuyuhiko crossed one leg over the other, resting his arms across the back of the couch.
You stopped, putting away any cold stuff that sat out still. “Um, well-“ you closed the fridge door, rubbing the back of your head awkwardly. “Honestly, I was going to make a cake but I wasn’t sure if you’d like one made from a box. And I didn’t have enough time to make something from scratch. So I had the thoughts of ordering one but I-“
“Do you have any mixes?” Fuyuhiko interrupted.
“I do but I felt like it wasn’t going to be-“
“Lemmie see what you got.” Fuyuhiko stood up immediately, walking towards the kitchen as he shoved his hands into his pockets. “I don’t give two shits if you bought a cake or not, I don’t mind making one if you have any mixes.” He sat up against the nearest counter.
Did- did you hear him right? A man like him wanted to MAKE a cake? He looked like the type that would have a cake bought for him. But again, you shouldn’t really judge him just by looking at him.
You started opening up a couple of cabinets, looking for the variety of cake boxes. Feeling a bit nervous as Fuyuhiko stared at you, you finally found around 5 boxes. Placing them out on the counter, you showed Fuyuhiko what you had.
Classic vanilla, chocolate, funfetti, strawberry, and red velvet.
You watched as Fuyuhiko stood there for a moment, staring down the boxes as he finally walked over.
Picking up every box individually before setting them all down, Fuyuhiko stared at the boxes some more before making his final decision.
“This one.” Fuyuhiko picked up the box of red velvet mix. “I don’t care that it’s just chocolate cake that’s dyed red. Shit still tastes good.” He opened the box, taking out the contents as he sat them on the counter. “You wanna get the rest?”
You nodded, removing the remaining boxes off of the counter to give Fuyuhiko some space.
Placing the boxes back into the cabinet, you went ahead and grabbed a few bowls, a whisk, a spatula, a measuring cup, and a cake pan. Setting them down on the counter, you grabbed the empty box, reading the back of it to see what ingredients the two of you needed.
Eggs, water, and vegetable oil.
Going ahead and grabbing the rest of the ingredients, you handed them over to Fuyuhiko. He then went on ahead and did the rest himself.
You stood there in awe, watching the man work so fast in his life, washing his hands first before and after cracking the eggs open, mixing the rest of the ingredients with the powder mixture with the whisk.
Preheating the oven and having the ingredients fully mixed together in a metal bowl, Fuyuhiko then poured the mixture into the cake pan by using the spatula. He then turned to you once he was done with the spatula and whisk in his hands that were covered in batter.
“You want one?” He offered you the two utensils.
You smiled a bit, seeing how cute Fuyuhiko looked. It looked like he was enjoying himself. “You pick first, it’s your birthday after all.”
“Tch.” Fuyuhiko shook his head lightly, trying to keep back a smile. “Whatever you say.” He handed the whisk over to you, keeping the spatula for himself.
“Thanks.” You smiled a bit, taking the whisk into your hand.
Licking the whisk a couple of times, you managed to get some batter on your face. You knew that it wasn’t healthy to eat since it had raw egg in it, and you could possibly get sick. But you did it anyway, stopping halfway to see that Fuyuhiko practically cleaned his spatula.. with his finger?
Stopping with his finger halfway in his mouth, Fuyuhiko raised a brow. “What? I’m not using my injured hand, so don’t give me that look.” Fuyuhiko snapped, looking like he was pretty pissed off seeing you look at him for too long. Even though you didn’t stare for that long.
“Plus, I washed my hands multiple times so it’s not that disgusting.” He cleaned the rest of the spatula off before throwing it into the sink, washing his hands and the spatula once more before drying them off with a towel.
Your cheeks were flushed a bit as you finished licking off the rest of the batter, not even noticing how much was on the corners of your mouth. Throwing the whisk into the sink, washing it along with your hands, you then dried them off with a towel before placing the two utensils away.
Fuyuhiko looked over at you, doing a double take. “Hey, uh-“ he pointed at the corners of his mouth. “You uh, have a little-“ he pointed once more at the corners of his mouth, moving in between the two sides.
You gave him a confused look. “What?”
Fuyuhiko pointed at the corners of his mouth again, trying to signal you that you had batter on both sides.
Seeing that it clearly wasn’t working, he rolled his eyes in annoyance. Moving a hand to wipe the corners of your mouth with his thumb, Fuyuhiko showed you how much you had on your face.
“You had batter on your face, stupid.” He shook his head, smiling just a tad bit before turning to wash his hands again. “You’re such a dummy.”
“O- oh-“ you stammered, feeling a bit flustered at how unaware you were, wiping the corners of your mouth some more to make sure you had it all off before washing your hands again. “Thanks.” You mumbled, feeling your cheeks flush a bit as your heart pounded.
“No problem. Just think clearly next time, yeah?” Fuyuhiko dried off his hands. “Dummy..” he mumbled underneath his breath, trying to hide the fact that his cheeks too had a slight hint of blush on them.
-
A couple minutes later, the oven finally beeped, signaling that it was time to put the cake in. Grabbing a nearby oven mitt, Fuyuhiko placed the cake pan inside the oven once he opened it, closed it, and set the timer for the proper time.
Setting the timer down and throwing the oven mitt on the counter, he turned to you. “Okay, now what?”
You stood there as your mind went blank. You really didn’t plan anything else for today. Guess you could try and make conversation while the two of you waited.
“So..” you sat on the nearby stool, turning to face Fuyuhiko, who was now standing on the opposite side of you. “I didn’t think you’d be the baking type.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Fuyuhiko shoved his hands into his pockets, resting himself on the counter behind him as he crossed one foot over the other. “What? Just because I’m a Yakuza doesn’t mean I get to have other hobbies?” He snapped.
Maybe you shouldn't have been so… judgemental? You kinda regretted opening your mouth, seeing that Fuyuhiko was a bit upset over it.
You went to open your mouth, only to have Fuyuhiko close it for you as he started to ramble a bit, kinda going off on another one of his angry rants.
“Tch, everyone suspects that just because I’m a Yakuza and the heir to the fucking clan means that I don’t have any fucking hobbies.” He crossed his arms, turning his head away from you. “Just because I AM busy all the time doesn’t mean I’m using up all my time doing fucking mafia work. I’m allowed to do other things than work! Shit! Great! Now someone other than my fucking family and Peko knows about this ridiculous hobby that I do.”
“Fuyuhiko, I-“
“Shut the hell up when I’m talking!” He snapped, clenching his fists tight. “I’m-“ Fuyuhiko took a deep breath, exhaling as he loosened his grip in his pockets.
“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t be so harsh. Especially towards someone who just wanted to get to know me better. Someone who planned this day out for me...” His cheeks flushed a bit in embarrassment.
You sat there silently as you fidgeted with your fingers. You were a bit afraid to open your mouth again, but Fuyuhiko was right. You just wanted to get to know him better, that’s all.
“I’m sorry if I was being judgemental of you. I shouldn’t have assumed that.” You looked at him a bit, seeing that he still wasn’t looking at you. “This might seem weird but-“ you pulled on the edge of your hoodie sleeves. “I don’t think it’s a ridiculous hobby. I think it’s kinda… nice and… cute that you have a hobby like this. It keeps your brain occupied with something else other than work.” Your cheeks flushed a bit awkwardly as you looked down at your feet.
“Wait- what?” Fuyuhiko’s eyes widened a bit, pulling on the collar of his shirt a bit. “You think it’s... cute?” His cheeks flushed a deep crimson, pulling on his collar some more. “D- don’t say such a thing, you dummy.”
Fuyuhiko looked to the side a bit before quickly averting his eyes towards you, hoping that you didn’t notice him being flustered as hell. “There’s.. nothing cute about it at all.” Fuyuhiko cleared his throat, trying to place his tough mafia facade back on. Trying to ignore the fact that his softness was showing.
“You might not think it’s cute, but I do.” You mumbled, admitting your thoughts. “And I think you’re pretty-“
The sound of the timer going off loudly interrupted you, nearly making you almost fall off of your seat.
“Aw fuck, I set it too damn early.” Fuyuhiko grumbled, grabbing the timer and setting it to a longer time. “Don’t know why I set it to fucking 5 minutes instead of 12 or someshit.” He grumbled some more before placing it back down onto the counter. “Anyways, what were you saying?”
“Nothing, don’t worry about it. It’s not important.”
Liar.
You sat there awkwardly, thinking over and over in your head that you were just about to straight up admit that you found the young Yakuza cute. Was this even the right time to do that? You met and started to talk to him a few days ago and you THINK this was the right time to confess?
You continued to sit there awkwardly as you pulled on your hoodie sleeves, refusing to look at Fuyuhiko even more as your cheeks were still plastered with flush.
“You’re lying, I can tell.” Fuyuhiko crossed his arms, giving you a stern look. “I deal with thousands of people that lie to me on a daily basis to the point where I can tell that someone is lying just by the way that they’re acting. So-“
Fuyuhiko stepped forward, extending a hand towards you as he placed it on the bottom of your chin, lifting your head up slowly so the two of you could look eye to eye.
“Tell me, y/n.”
Time had seemed to freeze to a halt as you stared right into the Yakuza’s golden eyes.
Feeling your cheeks hurt like hell, possibly burning at this point as they flushed, you averted your eyes slowly, admiring the boy’s face.
The bridge of his nose had a few freckles plastered lightly on it, only really noticing them if you looked close enough. You noticed that he had a birthmark located near the right side of his mouth too. Permanent blush marks sat on his cheeks, but you could tell that he was trying not to blush.
“Hey! You’re stalling!” Fuyuhiko snapped a bit, catching you staring. “Why’re you even looking at my face for so long anyways ya weirdo?” His cheeks turned a bit rosy.
You looked him in the eyes again, seeing that he wasn’t really mad? at you for staring, rather seeing that he was a bit flustered. You could tell he was trying to keep his tough facade on, trying not to show his softness. But the way his cheeks looked, it showed that he was slowly cracking.
“Just admiring the view.” You mumbled honestly.
Did- did you just say that out loud? IN FRONT OF HIM?
“What?“ Fuyuhiko’s eyes widened a bit, his cheeks now turning into a deep crimson.
Dropping his hand, Fuyuhiko stepped back as he grabbed the collar of his shirt and pulled on it. “Tch, you really are weird y’know that?” He looked to the side, trying to ignore the fact that he was burning up like crazy in embarrassment.
For the second time today the timer went off, vibrating on the counter violently until Fuyuhiko turned it off.
Grabbing the nearest oven mitt, Fuyuhiko opened the oven door, grabbing the cake pan as he took it out and placed it on the stove. Grabbing a toothpick from nearby, he stuck it in to see if it was cooked all the way. And luckily, it came out clean.
“Okay, we’ll just let that cool for a minute or two.” Fuyuhiko took the oven mitt off, throwing it on the counter as he threw the dirty toothpick away.
The air felt awkward and thick as you sat there, trying to ignore the fact that you were practically flirting with the boy without even noticing. You might as well try to change the subject to something less… awkward.
Until you realized something.
“Shit, I don’t have any frosting.” You mumbled.
“Tch, did you look at me for too long make your brain go all stupid?” Fuyuhiko shook his head as he took the cake out of the pan, placing it on a plate that he got out from one of the cabinets. “One of my hobbies is baking, dummy. I can practically make anything from a box or from damn scratch.” He searched through the drawers, trying to find a knife to cut with.
“Do you want to make cream cheese frosting since it’s a red velvet cake? I don’t think I have any cream cheese-“
“Forget it, we don’t need any damn frosting.” Fuyuhiko continued to search through the drawers.
You got off of the stool, walking over towards the fridge. “But I can check to see-“
“I said, we don’t need any damn frosting!” Fuyuhiko found a knife finally, slamming it down onto the counter. He loosened his grip around it, trying to compose his anger.
Getting himself together after taking a few deep breaths, Fuyuhiko picked the knife back up and began cutting the cake into slices.
“Do you mind getting those paper plates and plastic silverware that you have left over? I don’t want to use up your actual silverware.” He turned his head behind him to look at you, seeing you stand there in shock.
Without hesitation, you walked back into the living room and grabbed 2 paper plates and 2 forks from the table.
Walking back in, you handed them over to him without saying another word.
“Thanks.” He grabbed the two plates, separating them as he placed the cake slices on them. You noticed that he gave you a much bigger slice than his.
“You should have the bigger slice.” You tried to protest with him a bit, seeing that he was ignoring you by placing the knife down.
“No, you take it.” He took the other plate in his hand as he walked into the living room. “I’m sorry that I didn’t get a hold of my temper again. So, that’s my apology.” He walked over towards the couch, sitting down in the same spot that he sat in earlier.
You didn’t say another word as you followed suit, grabbing your plate and fork before sitting down as well. Except, instead of sitting next to him, you sat in your lounge chair, giving plenty of space between the two of you as you ate your cake in silence.
-
After sitting in awkward silence for a bit and 2 more slices of cake later, there was a little bit of cake left between the two of you.
You decided to put the rest of it in a container for Fuyuhiko to take. Who still hasn’t said a word to you since the last outburst.
You started to clean up a bit, putting any clean dishes away, and throwing away any leftover trash.
Fuyuhiko, on the other hand, was starting to pick at his injured hand again, scratching gently on the scabs as it itched like crazy.
You stopped in your tracks once you entered the living room again, giving him a disappointed look. You walked over towards him, immediately sitting down as you grabbed his hand as quickly as possible.
“H- hey!” Fuyuhiko stammered, almost snatching his hand away from you.
“What did I say earlier?” You held his hand as you gave him a serious look.
“What are you, my mom?” Fuyuhiko snapped.
“No, but I’m someone that you feel comfortable being around with.” You shot back. “And don’t try denying it, Fuyuhiko. I know you’ve been enjoying yourself but you just don’t want to admit it just yet.” You lightly caressed your thumb across his knuckles, hoping that the slight pressure you put on them didn’t hurt since his bruises were still healing.
“I- Tch.” Fuyuhiko grumbled, looking away embarrassingly as you continued to caress his knuckles. That is, until his eyes shot wide open as he felt you place a light kiss on them.
“There, now you can have your hand back.” You mumbled as your cheeks were flushed a deep pink as you dropped his hand.
Fuyuhiko sat there in shock. “Did- did you kiss my damn knuckles?” He turned his head towards you, moving his hand as he stared at it in awe. His eyes flicked back and forth between you and his hand.
“Y/n, did you-“ Fuyuhiko froze up immediately, his eyes widened even more as you placed a quick kiss on his forehead.
Moving back quickly, you tried not to look at him as it felt like you'd made a huge mistake right then and there. To not only kiss the ultimate Yakuza’s hand but his FOREHEAD? Your cheeks were now a deep crimson, burning like never before in reaction to what you’ve done. Your heart felt like it could explode, feeling the anxiety rush through you.
I shouldn’t have done that. I shouldn’t have done that. I shouldn’t-
“Y/n, I- I-“ Fuyuhiko couldn’t come up with a response as he sat there dumbfounded, even though his cheeks were now flushed a deep pink. “Man, you’re such a- weirdo.” Fuyuhiko adjusted himself, pulling on the collar of shirt. “A- d-dummy for doing something like that, to a person like me.”
“I’m sorry if I’m rushing things.” you mumbled as you fumbled with your fingers. “I know that we just met a couple of days ago, but to be honest- no. I shouldn’t say it, it’s.. a bit embarrassing.”
Without hesitation, Fuyuhiko grabbed ahold of one of your hands, intertwining some of his fingers with yours.
He wouldn’t normally do this with someone, not even with Peko, but he felt like this was the right thing to do at this very moment.
“No, go ahead and say it.” His voice low, giving you his full attention. “You’ve already opened your damn mouth.”
“Guess this can apply to what I was trying to say earlier,” you bit your bottom lip a bit. “I think you’re pretty cute, handsome even.” You felt the weight of the world fall off of your shoulders, feeling that your chest wasn’t so tight and cramped anymore.
“Of course I felt a bit scared when I first saw you in person, but I’ve learned that these past few days, taking the time to talk, being around you, and gotten to know you,” you tried to keep back a huge smile. “You’re not so bad afterall.”
Fuyuhiko sat there with his fingers still somewhat intertwined with yours. Staring at it, he didn’t really know how to respond with you suddenly expressing your feelings with him, but he too felt.. something towards you in return. But he wasn’t 100% sure about it yet.
Caressing your knuckles a bit before letting go, Fuyuhiko sighed as he adjusted his shirt a bit before looking at you with a fully flushed face.
“Y/n I’m, I’m flattered actually erm,” Fuyuhiko cleared his throat, “but I’d like to take things slow for right now, if you’re alright with that.” He crossed his arms, turning his head away. “Ya dummy.” He mumbled with a fully flushed face still.
“Would a dummy like me say no?” You laughed a bit. “I’m totally alright with that.” You smiled.
Fuyuhiko chuckled as a small smile formed on his face. “Of course you would say that.” He averted his gaze towards you. “Ya dummy.”
-
“I’m gonna be completely honest and say that I did have a good time today.” Fuyuhiko picked up his rings from the table, sliding them onto his fingers. “Even though I didn’t want to admit it at first.” He grumbled embarrassingly.
You smiled, feeling your heart flutter with joy. Even though you felt worried about this whole party get-together type of thing, thinking that Fuyuhiko would hate it or would think it’s boring. It really did bring a huge smile on your face hearing it from him.
“I’m glad that you’ve enjoyed it. I did too.” You smiled.
“And uh, I just wanna apologize for any of the times where I lashed out at you suddenly.” Fuyuhiko rubbed the side of his neck. “Guess I gotta work on that temper of mine.” He chuckled.
“Honestly, I don’t think you gotta work on anything, Fuyuhiko. Your attitude makes you who you are, even though you have a sharp and a soft side to it.” You let out a slight chuckle.
Fuyuhiko looked at you, spinning the rings on his fingers awkwardly. “If ya tell anyone that I do baking as a hobby, I’ll send my men after ya.”
“Mhm, sure.” You teased him a bit.
“I will! I will do it! Don’t mess with me!” Fuyuhiko yelled.
“Okay, okay I get it.”
“Good,” Fuyuhiko adjusted himself before standing up. “I should get going though. Today was a lot of fun.” He shoved his hands into his pockets, making his way to the door.
“Oh, do you want the rest of your cake?” You quickly ran to the kitchen, grabbing whatever cake that was leftover that was placed inside of a container. “It is your birthday after all.” You offered the container to him.
Fuyuhiko turned around, shaking his head. “Nah, you can keep it.” He stood there for a moment, looking down at his feet awkwardly. “Maybe I’ll bring ya over an actual cake and not some cake made from a box.”
You smiled, holding the container in your hands. “Yeah, I think I’d like that. I wouldn’t mind having company over either.”
Fuyuhiko looked up at you, giving you a small smile. “Me too.” He moved back towards the door, placing a hand on the door knob. “I’ll see ya around, yeah?” There was softness in his eyes, seeing that he couldn’t take them off of you just yet.
“Of course.” You gave him a small smile, feeling your cheeks flush just a tad bit.
Standing there still for a moment as his eyes were still locked onto you, Fuyuhiko sighed quietly as he moved towards you- placing a quick kiss on your cheek before making a quick exit.
“Bye, y/n.” Fuyuhiko gave you a quick smile before leaving your apartment.
In an instant, you dropped the container out of your hands as you stood there shocked to the core with your eyes widened, your cheeks flushing immediately as it spread throughout your face.
Looking slowly down on the ground, you saw that the cake fell out of the container, laying there splattered on the ground.
Grumbling to yourself, you cleaned it up the best that you could as your cheeks were still flushed like mad. You were lucky Fuyuhiko wasn’t standing there still or else you wouldn’t hear the end of it, possibly calling you a dummy.
Least he would come by some other time with another cake.
-
A week later -
You sat in your usual lounge chair, reading your book in the quietness of your apartment. Throughout the week ever since Fuyuhuko’s birthday, you’d hear some yelling and or arguments going on next door- knowing that it was possibly Fuyuhiko arguing with his sister again. You’d see Peko in the halls as well, who would greet you with small talk and shy smiles before entering Fuyuhiko’s apartment.
It made your heart hurt just a bit since you haven’t seen Fuyuhiko in person since that day, but hearing him yelling next door brought comfort to you for some reason, not even feeling slightly annoyed anymore by the sounds.
A couple of knocks were on your door as you looked up from your book, smiling immediately knowing that it was possibly Fuyuhiko.
Getting up from your chair and throwing your book down, you walked over towards the door. And to your surprise when you opened it, Fuyuhiko was on the other side.
Wearing his usual Yakuza attire, he stood there on the other side of the door with a small container that had a cake inside of it. Besides the permanent blush that was on his cheeks, you can tell that he was blushing quite a bit as he held the container firmly in his hands.
“I promised that I would make ya a cake. So uh,” Fuyuhiko handed the container over with slightly shaky hands as he looked to the side. “Here.” He mumbled. “It’s red velvet, my favorite.”
Taking the container into your hands, you blushed a bit.
“Thank you, Fuyuhiko.”
Looking down at the container, you noticed that the cake was plain on one side while the other had frosting on it.
“Oh if you’re wondering why it looks like that, I uh,” Fuyuhiko scratched the back of his head. “I can’t really have dairy products, and I think frosting can be a bit too sweet sometimes, but I knew that you wanted frosting the first time so I did this.” The blush on Fuyuhiko’s face grew, practically making the freckles on his face show even more with how red his face looked. “Figured we could… share.” He mumbled.
With your heart pounding like crazy in your chest, you didn’t even think twice as you went ahead and grabbed Fuyuhiko by his tie, dragging him inside lightly as you closed the door behind him.
Once the two of you settled down inside and to your surprise, Fuyuhiko started to rant a bit, calling you a “weirdo” and or “dummy” while feeling flustered as hell.
He’d even tell you that you didn’t need to do something so… romantic? Saying that you could’ve ruined his Yakuza apparel and or hurting him or yourself.
But he shut his mouth right away once he saw the look on your face once you took a bite into his home made cake for the first time, seeing the joy and sparkle in your eyes.
In that moment, Fuyuhiko felt glad that he spent time with you on his birthday, knowing that if he didn't, he wouldn’t have any other times like this with you.
And he didn’t want to admit it, but moments like this were pretty sweet.