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“Don’t leave yet.”
The words felt like a death sentence on his lips. You’d gone out for drinks after both getting back from your jobs around the same time. A celebration, and of course somehow Toji had managed to swindle you into paying. He always did, on the rare occasions you went out together. He’d managed convince Shiu once or twice but the boss was far more resilient than you, more able to say no.
You stood there in the street, still side by side with the broad man. You’d not been planning on leaving yet anyway, you were just wandering the streets together, but somehow saying it made it real. Toji had been the one to say it too, the man everyone knew for being silent, uncaring. He’d been the one to make the request, though it wasn’t asked as a question, you knew it meant more than he’d ever dare to admit. He wasn’t someone to talk about his feelings, you’d learned that quickly. And yet, there he was.
“I’m not.” You told him, hands pushed into your pockets. You kicked a small stone as you passed by it, and a silence fell over you that wasn’t quite awkward, but not quite comfortable either. You meandered the streets, cutting through a park as the moon rose in the sky, listening to the bustle of the city around you.
As you stumbled, Toji’s hand shot out to steady you without a word, so fast that you’d think he’d anticipated you stumbling before you’d even done it. He guided you to sit on a park bench, and lowered himself down beside you. He sat with knees wide, leaning forward to rest his forearms on them. He looked out at the empty area, eyes flicking over softly rustling trees, and the animals that skittered to and from them as evening settled into night. As you shuffled slightly beside him, you knee gently knocked his. Neither of you commented, or reacted past you tensing slightly in the first moment.
Something needed to be said, that was clear, and you had a distinct feeling that if you were going to wait for Toji to do it then you’d be waiting until the sun rose again. For just a moment, you closed your eyes and took a deep, steadying breath. There had been an undeniable something building between you for a while now but the death of his wife was like a darkness looming over both Toji and the potential between you. Not because you wished she’d never been there, because you’d never take that away from him, but haunting him and therefore whatever he did with himself next. She’d always have a place in his heart, a fact you could more than make peace with, but you couldn’t be sure Toji would ever truly let himself keep moving forwards, or if he’d remain stuck in the day he lost her.
“Tonight was fun.” You settled on. Simple, neutral, a way to open up the conversation again. Toji didn’t acknowledge that you’d spoken for a long moment, just looking ahead, still and silent. You gave him the time that he needed.
“We should go out again some time.” He eventually suggested, and that was quite possibly the last thing you’d expected him to suggest.
“Yeah?”
“Yeah. Tonight was good. Usually you do follow a good first date with a second one.”
… what?
Okay, hold on.
What?
“Date?” You questioned, a soft, disbelieving laugh following.
“Uh, yeah?” Toji replied. He turned to look at you, brows furrowed with confusion. When your eyes met, understanding dawned on the two of you.
“We should go out for drinks.” Toji had said ‘to celebrate’ you’d mentally added on, where it hadn’t been said. He’d said it with a curl of his lips that was far more smile than his usual smirk was, something you’d not seen on his face in a long time. He’d offered it like it meant something, but in the moment, with the high of a paycheck in your account.. you hadn’t noticed.
“You.. didn’t realise.” He murmured, tongue darting out to wet his lips as he sighed.
“I- no. I didn’t,” you admitted, a hand darting out before you’d even processed what you were doing, not even just resting on his thigh but gently squeezing. You attempted to meet his eyes, but his drifted down to focus on your touch. “But if I’d known.. I still would’ve said yes.”
Toji’s eyes immediately rose again to meet yours, not quite wide but fluttering just slightly. Just enough for you to notice, to process his surprise.
“Yeah?” He asked, the most unsure you’d ever seen him in the years you’d known him as your coworker.
“Yeah.”
There was a brief silence where you just looked at each other. You broke eye contact just for a moment as a stray cat darted out from the bushes behind you and rubbed along your leg, then darted away. Odd. You shook your head and refocused, finding Toji’s eyes still burning into you. You watched intently as Toji’s tongue darted out to wet his lips, shifting slightly, distracted momentarily by the sight of it.
He seemed to come back to himself when he realised you were staring, lips twitching upwards slowly into a smirk tinged with smugness.
“Something you like?” He asked, parting his legs slightly further so his knee was pressed firmly against yours, tilting his torso so his shoulder was closer to yours, his face close enough now that you could feel his warm breaths against your own face.
“Could ask you the same.” You retorted with a soft laugh, just to ease the tension slightly between you both. But Toji couldn’t allow that, no, instead he inched slightly closer, eyes dragging slowly over your face as if memorising every detail.
“Yeah. I see something I like a whole lot.”
That was when he closed the final distance between the two of you, his lips finding yours like that was where they were meant to be. Your eyes fluttered closed on instinct, and when Toji tried to pull back to make the kiss simple and brief, you immediately followed after him, refusing to let him go far. You weren’t done with him just yet. With that, his body shifted to face you more directly, arms wrapping around you to tug you just that little bit closer. The way your head tilted to deepen the kiss was instinct, your free hand rising to cup the back of his neck. Now that you had him, you couldn’t bear for him to pull away.
“So, about that second date..” Toji murmured once he got enough space to do so.
“Yes. Now come back here.” You demanded in return, both laughing as your lips pressed together once again.