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"Ugh, put your phone down!" You yell at him over the music.
"What?" He smirked knowing exactly what you said.
A goofy smile was plastered on his face "I can't hear you!" Gojo continued to ignore your demand as his thumbs danced across the black screen.
You yanked his phone from his hand.
"Hey!" He reached behind your back for it and failed.
"Hiii!" you said mockingly while you walked backwards to the dance floor, facing Gojo.
"Who are you texting anyway?"
"It doesn't matter," he closed the gap between the two of you.
"Say, what's your type anyway?"
"Not you, dumbass." You playfully shoved him away with a smile.
He laughed "That's a shame, I'm pretty smart." He waved his phone in the air.
"Godda- Gojo!"
"Alright, alright!" He tucked his phone into his pocket then grabbed your hand "Let's dance!"
Nanami ignored the ping of his phone as he continued to watch his favorite show.
"Ah *beep*!" The young man on the television brought his hands to his head "I forgot to set my timer." He peered into the smoky oven he'd opened a minute earlier, witnessing his now burnt pie.
Nanami's brows pinched at the young contestant's rookie mistake.
"There's no coming back from that." He brought his glass to his lips without taking his eyes from the screen.
PING! PING! PING!
Instinctively, he threw his head back onto the couch.
"This better be good."
He set his glass down slowly then reached for his phone.
After seeing they were texts from Gojo, he almost set his phone down until he saw pictures of you with him. He brought his phone closer to his face.
LOOK WHO I'M WITH 💗💗💗
Gojo's text sat underneath the picture of you and him basking in neon lights, standing inches from each other. Nanami felt his cheeks heat up as his eyes lingered over the images.
"I think I still have time to try again." The younger contestant spoke in the background. Nanami ran his hands through his hair while still taking in the image of you and Gojo together. The longer he looked at it, he found himself feeling envious. He set his phone down then turned the tv off before going to the bathroom. His cheeks were flushed as he turned the faucet on.
Gojo sent another text to Nanami while he waited for you to come back from the restroom.
Dw it's not like that. Apparently, I'm "not their type"🙄
You scanned the crowd for Gojo's face and smiled when his eyes landed on you.
"Are you ready?"
"Yeah, let's get out of here. I'm starving!"
Gojo walked with you towards the exit sign, "I know a place nearby."
He had left his phone on the couch for a reason, so it wasn't glued to his hand. Out of sight, out of mind is what he told himself. Except you were still on his mind, sitting in the shadows and bringing all the possibilities to light. After he finished brushing his teeth, he let out a small exhale. His eyes stared at the ceiling for a brief moment before reluctantly going back to his phone. A low chuckle filled the silence of his apartment.
You took another bite of your food and savored the flavor, nodding your head.
"This," you nodded your head chewing more of your food " is delicious!"
"See! What'd I say?" Gojo smiled before sipping his drink "You gotta trust me on these things."
"Oh yeah, like you playing matchmaker."
"Exactly!"
You laughed at how frank he was "Alright, who is it?"
"You remember my friend, Nanami?"
He studied the wandering look in your eyes and continued. "We're about the same height, but you already know who's more attractive?"
He threw a flirtatious smirk at you and you rolled your eyes with a smile.
"Anyway, he's got blonde hair and –"
You nodded your head "I remember him. You don't exactly forget someone like that."
He raised a brow "Someone’s interested."
"Maybe," you felt your cheeks go hot "tell me more about him."
"He's a bit reserved but he opens up after a while. He's intelligent, a great cook, and one of my best friends but he could be your boyfriend!"
The last line got a laugh out of you. "Okay, okay. Do you have any pictures of him? I didn't get a good look at him last time. It seemed like he was in a hurry."
Gojo wiped his hands on a napkin and, all too happily, pulled out his phone. "What kind of friend would I be if I didn't have pictures?"
He smirked at an unread message: Of course, you're not their type. They have a brain.
You two inched closer together over the table as Gojo showed you pictures of your potential partner. As he scrolled through images, he remained on one for a second or two and continued to show you more in hopes of finding a decent picture. Some were blurry because Nanami was doing something and yelled at Gojo as soon as he turned around. Or he had a stern look on his face while pouting unsatisfactory at the lens.
"He isn't smiling in a lot of these but –" Gojo doubled back on a certain picture "oh wait, he's smiling in this one ... sort of."
You saw what looked like Nanami plating a steak dinner he'd made. He wasn't looking at the camera but there was something peaceful about it, something akin to the Mona Lisa if you will.
"Hmm alright," you took a sip from your glass and then offered your hand to Gojo “can I borrow your phone?”
He handed it to you with a smirk.
Normally he’d be asleep by now but he wanted to see the response he’d get from Gojo after teasing him. When a ping sounded from his phone, he slightly lowered the book to read the pop-up notification. He set the novel down after seeing it was from Gojo. The corners of his lip turned up when he saw the voice message. Yet his devilish smile dissipated when he heard your voice.
It looks like our mutual friend is playing matchmaker. Why don’t we get together and see if we’re a good fit?
A deep blush tinted his cheeks at your low chuckle which followed. Your laugh was enough to throw off his attention, he’d heard you saying numbers though. Were you giving him your number? He told himself he’d have to replay the message again but for now he tried to focus on what you were saying and not the thoughts going through his head.
Gojo gave you a small applause as you handed his phone back to him.
“I gotta say I’m impressed. I didn’t see that coming.”
And neither did Nanami. It was almost five minutes later and he was still dumbfounded. The farthest he got was putting your number in his phone. The contacts in his phone were far and few but they all had a first and last name. Nanami was a creature of habit who liked to keep things formal, but you’d only given him your first name and not your last. With any luck, you may have his last name in a few years so it wouldn’t matter ultimately. It didn’t but –
“Ugh,” he ran a hand through his hair then rested it on his cheek. His eyes focused on the blinking cursor in the text box under your name which had “Gojo’s pretty friend” next to it in parentheses.
You and Gojo sat side by side in the booth staring at his phone, waiting for a response.
“Anytime now, buddy.” Gojo watched without blinking.
“Did I scare him off?”
“No way” he set his phone down to look at you “we’ve been through some serious stuff and talking to your crush? It’s a cakewalk!”
A smile spread across your face “He’s got a crush on me?”
“Oh, did I say that?” He ruffled the back of his head with a free hand “Whoops.”
“Gimme that,” you grabbed his phone with a smirk as you started to send another voice message.
It had been ten minutes and he’d finally found the words … except, reading over it now he questioned whether it was too formal. It was dry, like something you’d say in an email to your boss. Or your mom after your friend pulled some stupid prank and broke something in the house.
“Hi, I apologize if Gojo put you up to this. He doesn’t think before he acts, as you’ve probably noticed. I hope you have a good night and —”
He covered his face with his hand. As he was deleting the text, he got another message from Gojo. Seeing that it was a voice message, he quickly clicked on it eager to hear your voice again.
Listen, I don’t know if I scared you off but don’t be shy. I won’t bite … unless you want me to.
Seven seconds. In those seven seconds of hearing your voice and that tease, his knees went a little weak. His heart beat a little faster and his pajama pants suddenly felt two sizes too small. PING!
He sat on the edge of his bed and played the next voice message you’d sent him from Gojo’s phone.
Gojo mentioned you were a great cook, maybe you could teach me somethin’ sometime.
The mention of his name ruined the visuals he had running through his mind.
You and Gojo squeaked as you saw the gray box with blinking dots appear on the screen.
Hi (y/n), it’s nice to finally meet you. You have a lovely voice and I can’t wait to hear more of it. I’ll talk to you soon but could you hand the phone back to Gojo for now?
You obliged and placed Gojo’s device back into his hand “Here ya go.”
Gojo read the next text that popped up on his screen as you downed the last of your drink.
Don’t think I won’t get you back for this.
You weren’t focused on what Nanami could’ve possibly texted him since he’d just messaged you. Gojo noticed the wide grin on your face as you held your phone to your ear to play the voice message Nanami had sent you seconds ago.
I’m sorry if it seemed like I was brushing you off. I wanted to get Gojo out of the way.
Gojo leaned in to hear Nanami’s voice and you playfully swatted at him “Back up!”
“I wanna see the results of my hard work!”
You smushed his face farther away from you as you continued to listen to Nanami’s voice.
We could talk all night but you should get some rest. You’ll need it.
A smirk was plastered on your face which remained as you typed, I’ll need rest for what exactly? What are you implying?
“I wanna know what’s going on!” Gojo continued to press against your hand which held him back and reached for your phone.
“No!” you pocketed your phone before releasing your hold on Gojo. You knew he could overpower you if he wanted to so you savored the fact that he didn’t.
“It’s getting late, I should go home.”
“Why the rush?” Gojo grinned while easing out of the booth to let you out. “Got an important phone call to make?”
“Maybe, maybe not.” You stood up and smiled at him before walking off.
He shook his head then followed you.
You glanced at your phone while Gojo drove you home. Whatever he was saying went in one ear and out the other as you read Nanami’s response to your question.
I’m not implying anything you aren’t thinking.
You let out a chuckle which made him look in your direction.
“You can thank me now.”
“Not just yet,” you answered Gojo while looking at Nanami’s new text.
Nanami: I’ll let you sleep on it. Maybe you’ll even dream about it.
You: It’s gonna be hard for me to sleep when you’re saying things like that.
Nanami: Now you see how it feels.
A small gasp escaped from your mouth and before you could think of a response, he’d finished the conversation with a simple text that read: Goodnight, (y/n). Sweet dreams.
“Seriously?” You whispered to yourself.
“What?” Gojo inquired “What happened?”
You placed your phone down in your lap, “I just got a taste of my own medicine.”
A grin was plastered on your friend’s face “That’s Nanami.”
You lay sprawled out in your bed, lazily looking at your phone in your half-blitzed state before sleep finally overpowered you.
The stampede of elephants running through your head woke you up. A low groan escaped from your desert-dry mouth as you slowly blinked your eyes open then shielded the light from your face. You’d barely heard the knocks at the door. Your footsteps were slow and lazy as you walked toward it.
You opened it to Gojo’s smiling face.
“You,” you left the door open while you walked back to your bed “you did this to me.”
“Which is why I’m here to make it up to you!”
“Don’t talk so loud.”
You crawled into your bed and he’d sat on the edge nearby. He waited until you pulled the covers up to your face and sank into your pillows.
“You should get dressed.”
“Why?!” You whined.
“Because I’m treating you to breakfast.”
You let out a loud groan before pulling the covers over your head.
“Or you can go dressed like that.”
“It’s too early to go out.”
“It’s only 10 a.m.”
“Exactly!”
“C’mon, please!” He crouched down next to where your ear was and pleaded endlessly.
You threw the covers back, nearly knocking him in the head “Okay, fine.”
He smiled “I’ll wait for you outside.”
You managed to make yourself look decent in a short amount of time. When you said you looked absolutely terrible, Gojo said otherwise.
“That settles it then,” you said jokingly.
“Yep, you look great! Let’s go!”
He lightly pushed you towards the door.
“What the hell is your problem?!” You tried not to laugh as he bounced on heels while waiting for you to shut the door.
“I don’t wanna be late!”
“Late for what?” You pointed a finger at him “And stop yelling.”
“Sorry,” he placed a hand around your shoulder “if we’re late, all the good pastries will be gone.” He put on an exaggerated pout.
“Aww, we can’t have that now can we?”
“No,” he held the door open for you. “Besides, I’ve got a few errands to run but I wanted to hang out with you first.”
His words made you smile “Aw, that’s sweet of you!”
“I try.” He batted his lashes at you then opened the car door.
You checked your phone as he sank into the driver’s seat. You had a few notifications but the first one you noticed was a text from Nanami.
Nanami: Good morning, how are you feeling?
You: Let’s just say I’m def paying for last night. How are you?
“Besides, I owe it to you.” Gojo’s voice pulled you out of your trance. You looked at him as he approached a stop sign.
“Huh?”
“I was saying it’s the least I can do. I wasn’t expecting last night to get so crazy.”
“So what I’m hearing is I can get anything I want?”
“Of course, you can.” He glanced at you with a grin.
Nanami felt his phone vibrate as he approached the counter. He pocketed it for now and tried to stick to his routine. After he placed his order, he stood off to the side to check his phone.
“This,” you took in the quiet, relaxed atmosphere of the cafe “does not seem like your vibe.”
Gojo walked in behind you “A friend of mine actually goes here.” He quickly scanned the room and saw Nanami head off to the corner for a table. A sinister smile spread across his face.
“C’mon,” he quietly encouraged you to follow him toward the counter.
You placed your order then waited for Gojo to place his own but you were stunned when he simply said he was fine. He paid for your breakfast then stood to the side of the counter.
A barista approached the counter and called out a coffee order. Gojo saw Nanami walk towards the spot behind you, where his order waited for him.
“Nanami?!?” Gojo feigned surprise.
You turned around and saw him standing nearby. His eyes widened ever so slightly under your gaze. Although he tried not to show it, he blushed. Your cheeks felt hot for a moment. As you remembered you tried for the bare minimum today, you felt a bit embarrassed.
“Hi,” it came out strained and awkward. If anyone could look inside your brain, they’d see you throwing a temper tantrum.
Gojo put on a goofy grin then rubbed the nape of his neck “I had no idea you’d be here!”
Another barista emerged from behind the counter and called out your order.
“I’m just gonna,” you pointed at the steaming cup of coffee and plate of food you’d ordered “yeah.” As you squeezed past Nanami and Gojo, you turned to face your friend. He ignored the look of hate on your face as you mouthed “You are so dead.”
Nanami shut his eyes for a moment “Of course, you’d do something like this.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about. Oh,” he reached for his phone and answered a call “What’s that? You need me right away?!” he pulled the phone down to his shoulder and started to say something.
You cut him off “Don’t worry about it. I’ll find a way home.”
“I can take you home,” Nanami cleared his throat “to your house.”
The blush remained on his cheeks as he continued “If you’re okay with that.”
Gojo watched the two of you with eager eyes.
“Sure,” you nodded.
“Great,” Gojo smiled before walking off “have fun you two!”
The two of you retreated to the table Nanami picked earlier.
“I’m sorry he did that.”
“It’s fine,” you sipped your drink “I mean, it’s not fine but it’s Gojo so it’s expected.”
Nanami nodded then took a sip from his cup.
“How long have you two known each other?”
“About a year or so, why? You’re not jealous are you?” You studied him as you ate your breakfast.
He chuckled “That’s not the word I would use.”
“Okay,” you laughed “what word then?”
He raised a brow and you grinned “Humor me.”
A soft smile graced his face. While he reviewed his personal word bank, he drank his coffee.
“Curious.”
You nodded your head slowly, “About?”
He tried not to show the effect you had on him. His hand was rubbing at the corners of his mouth, trying to stop them from turning up and forming a smile.
“You’re gonna have to use your words, Nanami.”
The smile he was resisting made itself known to you and you grinned.
“We haven’t dated or anything.”
Nanami recalled how some people had stolen kisses or slip-ups that they refused to talk about.
“No drunken kisses or anything like that either.” You watched him as you sipped your drink.
“It’s not that I don’t believe you. I find it hard to believe that Gojo could behave around someone like you.”
“I know, it’s hard work.” You said jokingly.
He smiled in agreement and took another sip of his coffee.
“I take it this is your usual spot?”
“I usually come here on Sunday mornings.”
“That would explain how Gojo set us up.”
“I guess you could say I’m predictable.”
You chuckled when you remembered the game of cat and mouse you briefly played together, “Far from it.”
Over the next hour, he told you a bit more about himself. Not that he was willing but because you asked. Although you didn’t speak about yourself much he was intrigued by what you did tell him and he was eager to know more about you.
“This is me.”
He parked his car in front of your home. “Even though we met unexpectedly today,” he slightly grimaced at Gojo’s antics but then smiled “I enjoyed getting to know you.”
“Me too,” you grinned "thanks for driving me home by the way. I really appreciate it.”
“Of course.”
You turned to open the door, then looked back at him.
“What are you doing later?”
He was stunned, you saw it in his face and continued to speak. “I don’t have any plans and I was thinking maybe we could get dinner. If you’re up for it.”
The corner of his lip turned up and formed a smile “I would like that.”
“How’s seven sound?”
“Perfect.”
A sudden radiance overtook Nanami and you couldn’t help but smile at the effect you had on him.
“I’ll see you then.”
As you walked to your home and as Nanami drove to his, you both had the same thought, I guess I really should thank Gojo.