Work Text:
warning(s): female, chubby reader
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“Urgh, Terushima…” Your friend gagged and shook her head as she glared at him. “Always trying to slip into the girls’ panties. Unbelievable. Look at him trying to get her number. Ugh, what a fuckboy.”
You just faked a small little laugh.
Terushima was quite well known in your school. The playboy who had slept with almost every girl in his grade - or at least he had tried. That’s what the rumors said. Did you believe them? Yes and no. It was for certain that he was very flirty with all the girls and definitely had managed to go past that, but the whole grade? You doubted that.
However, did it really matter? Yuji had (apparently) tried to sleep with everyone….except for you. Of course, you knew why that was. You were not like most girls in your school. You weren’t pretty, thin or athletic. Quite the opposite (that’s how you felt about yourself at least).
Yet, when you passed him in the hallway as he had kabe-donned the girl, he still greeted you with a little grin and a nod. That was simply because you were the team’s manager. Yuji was not mean to you, or ignored you or anything like that. He was fun to be around and you got along pretty well in the past two years. The harsh truth simply was: he was not interested in you, neither romantically nor sexually. And for you, who had been heavily crushing on him since your first year together, that was painful, but understandable.
Terushima would never make a move on you.
“He’s such a jerk, right, (Y/n)?!” She started huffing and puffing again.
“Ah, mh…” You quietly approved because you didn’t want to explain yourself.
However, you wondered what would happen if anyone would find out about your feelings and the oh so many fantasies. Very explicit fantasies at that. Like the fantasy of you and Yuji being alone and he would needily drag you into the storage room of the gym to have his way with you. Or the fantasy of giving him head in the club room when you two would stay behind to discuss something. Or making out in the gym before morning pract-
“(Y/n)? Hellooohoo?” Sara snapped her fingers in front of your eyes. “You’re not listening to me at all! Stop daydreaming already, we’re late for our science lecture.”
“Ah, shit you’re right. Sorry, Sara.” And thus, you hastily followed her - very, very happy that your arousal couldn’t be seen by others. Seriously, you should stop daydreaming and get over this stupid ass crush. It was hopeless anyways!
Sadly though, those feelings and fantasies were very hard to get rid of. You had tried all throughout your second and also last year of high school. But the more Terushima flirted with anyone and got confessed to constantly, the more your heart ached. You desperately wanted to be one of his many “girlfriends” (hookups) just once.
But what could you do despite longingly sigh and look at him from afar?
Hence why, by the time you were all ready to graduate, you still didn’t manage to tell him your feelings. Too scared to ruin your friendship or make things awkward between you, the manager, and him, the captain of your team. You didn’t want to pull the team down, so you restricted yourself to just daydreaming and fantasizing. Even though all you wanted was to finally let this crush die already!
After the ceremony was done, you looked back to the old school building. All the memories, good and bad, you would leave them all behind right there. You would never, ever see Terushima again. Your relationship was that of captain and manager; you didn’t even exchange phone numbers. He never asked and you were too afraid to come off as “the fatty thought because I was talking to her normally she would have a chance”. So, that was it. At last, you needed to tell him how you felt. Just so Terushima would reject you properly and then you could finally move on after three years of pining after him.
“Terushima-kun.” You walked over to him and a few of his friends.
“Oh, hey, (Y/n)-chan. Can’t believe we’re done, huh?” His usual grin played around his lips. You had to smile as well.
“Yeah. One last time, can I talk to you for a moment? Alone?”
“Oooohhhh~” His friends whistled.
“Aw shut up!” Yuji immediately said and jokingly kicked one of them. “Let’s go, (Y/n)-chan.”
“Yes.”
Your heart started throbbing uncontrollably. So that was it. You would tell him. And then move on. Everyone would go their own ways and you could get over this stupid first love. Your hands shook and you thought your knees would give in. Every step you took was a gamble if you would make it or not. Then you reached the place. The so-called “confession corner” as your high school had dubbed it (very original, right?). How many times had you watched from the windows as someone confessed to Terushima (and other dudes but that wasn’t important)? Today was your day to do that.
“Oh…” Yuji knew exactly what was going to happen and somehow, his grin faded a little.
Oh no. Oh no, he was disappointed. At last, the fatty confessed. That’s what he probably thought right now, right? He didn’t want to hear it, you knew it, but you had to hear it from his own mouth. That he didn’t like you. Otherwise, you couldn’t forget him.
“So… Well, I think you know what’s coming, haha.” You nervously looked through your bag and then pulled out a neatly wrapped little box.
Terushima knew indeed what was coming, but he didn’t walk away. He faced your confession.
“Every Valentine’s Day I made you homemade chocolate and cookies, but every time, I was too scared and ended up crying in my bed eating it myself. Kinda pathetic, huh?”, you laughed, because you were nervous, “So uhm…I don’t want to end up in my bed eating my own chocolates again. That’s why, please take them as a graduation present. And also…”, you suddenly bowed and reached out your arms to hand him the box of chocolates, “I like you, a lot. Will you go out with me?”
Your hands visibly shivered, your heart wildly thumped and you started sweating- how pathetic. However, Yuji not saying anything just made it harder.
But then, he took the box of chocolates.
“Thank you for these. I’ll make sure to really enjoy them, but… I’m sorry. Right now I just wanna have fun and not commit..”
When you looked up, he didn’t look disgusted or annoyed. It was a new expression. A shy smile. Oh no. How were you supposed to forget him when he would show you such a new, cute expression. So, you forced yourself to smile as well.
“Mn. Thank you for being honest and also for listening to me. I am glad we could work together during the past three years.”
“Me too. It was fun.” He took a step forward, but then stopped and instead asked, “Is it okay if I give you a hug?”
“Yeah.”
Thus he wrapped his arms around you. The reality was 10 times more amazing than just your imagination, dreams and fantasies. At least you had felt his arms around you just once. Terushima rubbed your back a little, as you still trembled, before you separated, smiled at each other and then he walked away.
Why did it still hurt so much even though you had known his answer from the beginning? You thought you had braced yourself for rejection enough. But, once Yuji was out of sight, tears still blurred your vision before they rolled down your chubby cheeks. Hearing it out loud was much more painful than just playing this scenario out in your mind.
Your first love, before it could even start, had already ended that day.
# 8 years later #
When the bell above your door rang, you came to the front; as you wiped your hands on your apron, you hastily approached the counter .
“Welco-” But you stopped mid-word.
Oh no. Oh no, no, no. Everyone but-
“(Y/n)-cha- (L/n)-san? Shit, it’s been a hot minute. You remember me, right?”
FUCK! He was HOT. Or rather, Yuji, who you hadn’t seen since your graduation, had matured but still looked as handsome as he was back then. Maybe even a little more handsome. Crap. How could you not remember him? The guy you thought you had finally forgotten.
Well shit, you didn’t.
“S-Sure, Terushima-kun. How are you?” You stuttered for a moment, though tried to compose yourself again quickly.
“Great! I’ve been doing amazing. What about you? I heard about the new bakery that had opened and was super popular. Didn’t think I would see you here.”
“Ah, yeah, a lot happened…” New customers then came in as the doorbell rang again. “Ah, Ryo?”
“Sure, (Y/n)-chan.” You didn’t have to say more than his name and your co-worker, a very handsome young man, rushed to the front desk as well to serve the customers.
“(L/n)-san, I see you’re very busy. Here.” Terushima suddenly pulled out his phone, unlocked it and handed it to you. “Give me your number and we can catch up.”
Oh hell no! That was not good at all. It all just came back to you. The pain, the heartache, the rejection. But goddammit. It took just one smile from him and you were smitten once again. And you saw he had kept his tongue piercing, too… Shit, where did your mind go again?!
Thus, you took his phone and gave him your number. Your brain screamed at you for your stupidity.
“Thanks. I’ll call you. Now… I’ll have these.” He pointed to the boxes of chocolates displayed in your showcase. God, he knew exactly what he did when he flashed you that teasing grin. So he hadn’t forgotten how to be a tease and a flirt. Yuji was still just like he was back then.
“I always thought they were spectacular.”
“T-Thank you.” AHH, you wanted to slap yourself.
How was it possible that you would meet the guy you’ve had dirty dreams about again eight years later!? You thought that, in a small city in Hokkaido would be the perfect place to never meet anyone from your school ever again. You thought wrong. So wrong.
Once Yuji was gone, you sighed heavily and turned to Ryo.
“I’ll take a quick break, can you manage the counter for a moment?”
“Sure, (Y/n)-chan.”
Once you reached the little break room in the back of your bakery, you slumped into one of the chairs. Of course the one person you’d meet would be Terushima. God, if only you would have had an amazing transformation and glow up, became thin and pretty. But no, instead you were at your heaviest at the moment and you still found yourself the complete opposite of pretty.
But then again… Terushima had your phone number now. Even though you should have been over him by a long shot - just one word was enough and he turned your whole world upside-down again.
“I hope he comes by again…” Damnit!
Terushima, on the other hand, looked down to the phone in his hand and had to really suppress a stupid grin. He got your number. After eight years, he finally managed to get your number.
The truth was, he had always found you cute. And working with you was also fun. He had tried to flirt with you on multiple occasions but you never responded and just ignored it (how could he have possibly known you didn’t realize it because you were too insecure to take it as anything more than just being friendly?). So, he didn’t bother you any longer after that and thus, he hadn’t asked for your number or anything. Safe to say, when you confessed after your graduation, he was confused and surprised, but he genuinely didn’t want to commit to one person. Back then, he was an ass who might have even cheated if he had forced himself to stay with just one girl. So, in the end, even though his younger self would have probably said yes to anyone else and ignored their feelings along the way, he couldn’t do that with you. Because even back then, you were still special, even if he had realized it way too late after he had already rejected you.
But now, he saw you again after so many years! Terushima couldn’t stop his heart from thumping louder and harder than ever before. You definitely got cuter in the last few years. Plus, he was also rather chill now. He was seldomly going to parties anymore. The last time he brought home a girl was also ages ago. Basically, he wanted a relationship, something that would last and was serious. But… Yuji couldn’t help but wonder about that Ryo guy…
Was he your boyfriend? Or were you just colleagues? Ryo hadn’t used keigo… and he even called you “-chan” and you called his first name too. Damn. What was your relationship?
And while he asked himself all of that, another question crept into his mind: Would you give him another chance if he tried? You probably hated him and had gotten over him already. Though, there was nothing wrong with asking or trying first, right?
#
That same night, you rushed out of your bathroom when your phone suddenly rang. You, however, didn’t expect to see an unknown number. As your heart thundered against your ribcage, you couldn’t help but wonder if it would be… No. He wouldn’t, right? Terushima probably just wanted to be nice and not actually catch up with you, right?
Curiosity got the best of you at last and you picked up, “Hello?”
“Ah, hi! (L/n)-san? It’s me, Terushima Yuji.”
For a second, that one sentence took your breath away. All those years of yearning and secretly crushing on him just hit you in the gut once more as your heart almost combusted. It was really Terushima.
“T-Terushima-kun! Hi. Uhm… I didn’t expect you to call.”, you truthfully said and immediately regretted it. Stupid!
“Haha, told you I’d call, right? Honestly I am also surprised you didn’t give me a fake number.” Yuji might have chuckled but he sounded a little nervous.
“No, I mean, why would I?” You sat down on the bed, still wrapped in your towel. Even though you just took a nice refreshing shower, your body was hot. Listening to his voice like that was heaven and hell.
“Well…I was an ass to you, remember? Our last day.” Yuji nervously scratched his neck which made the many rings on his fingers clink. He didn’t like remembering the past that much.
“Aahhh, nhn not at all.”,
It was embarrassing to think back to your confession, hence why you hastily tried to end the topic, “You weren’t interested in me and you let me down really gently so it was totally okay, Terushima-kun! Really, no problem.”
He just sighed and ran his fingers through his hair.
“Thanks.”, Yuji chuckled a little, but he still sounded a bit strained, “But I mean… I already had a crush on you in our second year so when you didn’t even react to any of my flirting, I gave up; so your confession surprised me and then I rejected you for a really stupid reason too.”
When Terushima suddenly confessed he had a crush on you, it sent your heart into overdrive. Heat surged through your body like an erupting volcano; you were certain you could dissolve the drops of water on your skin into thin air with how hot you felt.
“Ah, shit, wait. Why am I even telling you this now?”, Terushima nervously laughed again.
“I think seeing you again kind of made me realize how stupid I was and it made my tongue loose so, uhm, all I wanna ask is if you wanna maybe go out and grab a coffee or something? Like, I don’t expect any-”
“I’ll go!”, you yelled into the phone.
Then it was silent. Your face was so hot, you were ready to melt into the towel that was still wrapped around your plump body. And it definitely wasn’t any better once Yuji started to laugh. His genuine, cute laughter was something your heart wasn’t ready for.
“I-I’m sorry, I-”
“Cute.”, he interrupted you, “You’re really cute, (Y/n)-chan. Ah, sorry, old habits die hard, is it okay to call you that?”
“Mn.”, was all you managed.
That was the first time someone had called you cute. For some reason, your vision blurred as tears sprung to your eyes. Maybe, you could really believe in his words?
“Heh heh, thanks, you can also just call me by my first name though.”, Yuji still chuckled, before it was quiet once more. Though only for a few moments.
“So… uhm (Y/n)-chan…is it okay to get my hopes up?” Terushima didn’t even hesitate. Like back then, he was still as straight-forward when he wanted something or someone.
You just hid your face in your free hand and suppressed a squeal. Was that really happening? Not just a dream?
“Yeah… Yuji-kun.”
As you heard a small thud, you thought he fell down somewhere, but all you could hear on the other end was then, “… You’re unfair, (Y/n)-chan.”
Even though he had just confidently told you to casually call him by his first name as well, he didn’t think you would immediately say it (and truth be told, he didn’t think it would affect him that much).
So, in the end, you were both utterly embarrassed (but also happy) and melted into the beds. Though it made one thing very clear to him: If he already reacted like that, the feelings he had harbored and suppressed for all those years (and that came back full swing once he saw you behind the counter today) were stronger than before. And now, he was going to make it up to you that he didn’t realize those strong feelings he had towards you sooner.
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all characters canonically under 18 are always aged up ; english is not my native language so i apologize for any mistakes