Chapter Text
You’ve always had horrible roommates—cheats, liars ,scammers, no respect for personal hygiene. After your last roommate left, your friend Yuki recommended Choso to you, begging you to take him.
You usually don’t take male roommates but you trust Yuki. If Yuki says he’s a good guy then he’ll get a chance. And so you set up a meeting with him. In a dimly lit pink cafe, with greenery growing from all corners, the cafe itself was whimsical, vibrant and highly ornamental and the only cafe you'd find in your apartment’s radius. So if this Choso really wanted the apartment as much as Yuki said he did he’d have to love this cafe, it was a requirement.
Well you just made it a requirement
You slouch against the lush cushions, twirling your hair as you drifted into a deep thought. Conversations always felt awkward. You tended to overthink everything until your mind went blank and you were left speechless.
Speechless.
Fuck.
You forgot to prepare questions for him.
The realization hit you all at once, and you jolted to search the cafe once more seeing a tall, lean man walk in, Pale, almost ethereal complexion. You don’t miss his tight compression shirt or his cargo jeans with that long dark brown stringy hair tied into two high ponytails. He was a dark colour in this brightly coloured cafe, yet he looked angelic.
God really had his favorites.
The beautiful man stood at the center of the cafe as if he were seeking someone and then his eye caught yours. Your breath hitched– you'd been caught eyeing him. You needed to look away. But before you could tilt your head he slowly plopped onto the seat across you.
“Y/N, It’s Choso. Yuki must’ve mentioned me” The exquisite man– Choso, sat calmly even offering his hand to greet you.
You avoid the pit in your stomach and the quivering of your hands as you greet him back “Uh Yes– Hi.”
“Hi.” He replied evenly.
The air stilled after that, you and Choso left staring at each other in uncomfortable silence. Unable to bear it any longer, you shoved down your nerves and spoke.“So, why are you moving here?” you asked with a nervous laugh. “This area's pretty stranded.”
“Is it? I didn’t notice”
“Yeah this is the only cafe within a 10 mile radius”
"At least it’s close to the apartment” Choso nodded as he pondered before adding "I like places like this. Fresh air. Fewer people.”
You nod in reply, It truly was peaceful here.
“What about work?” You asked, twirling a strand of hair around your finger a little faster. The knot of nerves in your stomach hadn't completely disappeared, but you found yourself quietly appreciating that he was speaking more than before.
“I’m a singer. My label has a studio not far from here”
His job fits him as well as that shirt is outlining his pecs. But you don’t say that. You bite your lip as you continue.
“Have you ever had issues paying rent on time?”
“No”
“Any hygiene issues?”
“No.” Choso replied fast, His eyes roamed across your features, studying you with a silent intensity. Part of you found it unnerving, as if he were sizing you up. Could he tell you were nervous? That you sometimes sucked at conversation?
The rest of you romanticized it, just a little. You felt there was something hidden behind the intensity.
“No more questions?” He remarked his face softening a bit, almost sympathetic.
“I might’ve come a bit unprepared” You say shabbily, a soft sigh leaving your mouth. “I just hope you’re not weird”
“I used to live with my brothers and as much as I love them. I’d do anything to not go back” Choso assured, The comment made your unease drift off.
“Oh? I bet you they won’t beat the roommates I’ve had”
Y/N couldn’t help but feel like she’d seen him from somewhere, You kept glancing at him trying to figure it out.
“Something on my face?” Choso remarks catching your eyes for the fifth time. You both had left the cafe now. “No”
After you left the cafe you essentially became a tour guide for Choso, your nerves were almost non-existent and you’d started feeling more comfortable with the brooding man next to you. From groceries to even the local arcade you’d shown him everything about the town you’ve grown to love and as the sky drew darker the time Choso’s had to leave inched closer before he left you offered a tour of the apartment as well.
As you showed him around the apartment, Choso seemed to like what he saw. According to him, it was exactly what he had been looking for, and he wanted to put down an installment as soon as possible. You'd reassure him, You tell him there was probably no one else you'd rent it to anyway. Still, Choso insisted on putting money down for the apartment. And just like that, it was settled.
In a week's time Choso would be your roommate.
Choso wasn’t surprised you hadn’t recognised him, Yuki said you wouldn’t. It was a year ago when you both officially met. His heart still raced at the memory, You were at one of Yuki’s parties in the corner, completely uninterested and seemingly in your own thoughts. Choso kept staring at you, bewildered, out of all of Yuki’s friends you stood out. Mainly because you were the complete opposite of them.
Yuki’s friends had always been on the energetic side, they were lovely people but sometimes just too much for Choso. His brothers, however, fit right in with them, he did not. As he continued to take you in, his gaze lingering, it didn't take him long to notice the small signs of your nervousness. Your fingers had found their way back to your hair, absentmindedly twirling a strand as you seemed to mumble to yourself.
Your dress flowed around you as you made your way toward the bar, swaying gently with each subtle movement. Choso watched as you gave yourself a pep talk, and then disappeared into the bar.
Now he was intrigued.
How was someone as nervous as you friends with Yuki? And how was this the first time he had seen you?
Yuki rarely hosted large parties. Most of her gatherings were filled with familiar faces–her closest of friends. Yuki Loud, confident, however she valued good company over appearances, personality over fleeting excitement.
Truthfully, none of Yuki Tsukumo's friends were ever boring. Choso found himself trailing after you
You were seated at the corner of the bar, absentmindedly tracing the rim of your glass with a sleek finger. Pleasantly enchanted by the alcohol, you asked the bartender for another drink.
The bartender raised an eyebrow, his gaze drifting toward the empty glasses he'd already served you.
“You sure?”
“Mhm!” you nodded enthusiastically. “Last one, I promise.”
The smile that spread across your face was dazzling Choso— it was carefree and genuine.
Choso found himself staring. For some reason, warmth crept up his neck, and he felt an unfamiliar flutter in his chest.
He slid onto the stool next to you watching you chug the glass of alcohol finishing it in mere seconds. “Can I buy you another drink?”
You turned your head toward him, a soft gasp leaving your lips as you scanned the man in front of you. “Are you an angel?”
He felt your breath against his skin as you leaned forward. You continued to inspect him
“You're beautiful, kind sir. And yes, buy me three drinks.” You punctuated the joke with a wink, your body language completely different from that of the jittery girl he was watching before.
Choso's expression remained stoic, though his heart was beating far too fast for his liking. In this moment, you looked almost divine. “I'll buy you three drinks,” he said, “if you tell me why you're drinking at a party.”
“Ohh?” You fall back looking at him with almost seductively “Are you intomemyangel–” a small hiccup slipped from your mouth, and instantly your hands flew up to cover it, a faint blush of pure embarrassment rising to your cheeks.
Choso couldn’t help but crack a small smile as he quickly asked the bartender for water.
Your expression fell as you hid your face in your hands, slipping back into quiet murmurs to yourself, just like before.
“I’d say you're more of the angel here, you’d just need wings.” Choso replied, his facade cracking as he pushed the glass of water towards you. “Drink up angel”
Avoiding his lingering eyes you chugged the water slowly turning to look at Choso. “Thank you, sir” you softly murmur, twirling your hair once again. Choso seemed to pick up on your tell tale signs now. You’d gotten a bit jittery.
“Where’s the enthusiastic girl, just here before?”He questioned
“The angels took her soul, so sorry,” you said with a shrug of sarcasm dripping from your voice, however, refusing to meet his eyes. Then, after a pause, you added, “They cursed me with hiccups… and the hiccups won.”
“Fighting internal angels then?” He conceded, his eyes never leaving you. “Y’know you never answered my question, do you always drink at parties?”
“I don't come to parties, I've been declining Yuki forever just—Yuki said it’d be fun, I think I need some fun in my life” you leaned your elbows on the bar, leaning forward you’re expression distant already forgetting your own indignation, talking again like your thoughts couldn’t stay inside your head for more than a second.
“I try to be fun—but I get so in my head my throat tightens, and the room feels awkward, and then people look at me like I’m awkward too. Alcohol lets me feel a bit more liberated,” you gestured vaguely at yourself. “This is my liberation.”
“I would say you’re more dramatic than liberated,” Choso replied calmly. “I can tell you’re nervous.”
“Yeah–” You scoff, “Story of my life.” You slumped your entire weight onto the bar, indicating you didn’t feel like talking anymore. Usually, Choso would’ve taken the hint and left. But he didn’t want to.
As you shifted under the bar to fix your posture, three glasses clinked near you. Your head jerked up, trying to find the source of the sound.
“3 drinks for a dance?” Choso asked calmly but for anyone who knew him this was a bizarre request even for him.
You looked around. The bar was nearly empty.
“In here? It’s empty.”
“Exactly,” he replied, sliding the first drink toward you. “No one’s here to look at you.”
You hesitated for only a second before drinking it.
You finish all three drinks staring at him, trying to discern him out but to Choso, he could swear it was the hottest thing he’d ever seen. He stayed perfectly still, gaze locked on yours in silence.
As you set the final glass down, a thin line of alcohol slipped from the corner of the glass staining your lips, hitting the table with a soft clink.
Choso wanted to lick it off for you
No fuck– He said in his head looking away from you
“What’s it to you?” you asked suddenly. “Why try to make me feel safe?”
“For fun,” Choso shrugged. “I’m here to have fun too.”
Stop being a pervert, he reminded himself, forcing his gaze back to you.
You wiped the last trace of alcohol from your lip just as you noticed something—Choso had also been drinking. A few shots sat empty beside him.
Before you could comment, he stood, stepping down from the stool and offering you his hand. As your fingers slipped into his, Choso found himself distracted by how naturally your hands fit together, as though they had settled exactly where they belonged
Due to your drunken stupor, Your legs faltered, and tattered around as you were taken to the dance floor. You were unsteady and were supporting yourself by clinging to Choso’s body.
The two of you had long abandoned anything that could be considered dancing. Instead, he simply swayed with you to the rhythm of the song.
“This isn’t dancing y’know” You slur, a bit against his chest as he sashays you with the melodies of the song. Choso couldn’t reply; you were right. As much as he wanted to keep you there, tucked safely against him, he wanted you to enjoy yourself more than he wanted to indulge in his own selfishness.
He intertwined his hand with yours pushing you, away from his chest gently, A soft whine left your voice as you felt his warmth fading. “Mmm?” You slur once again looking at him flushed. A small chuckle fell on his face, and then he twirled you around.
It took you by surprise, it was evident with the soft gasp that left your lips. You felt the air brushing your face, your dress spinning with you as Choso pulled you back in, His arm tightened around your waist as he dipped you backward. The world tilted with you. He thought you were lovely.
Choso's hand was against your back. looking at you with longing and overwhelming desire.
It overwhelmed him as he buried his face in the curve of your neck,breathing in your perfume hoping to be intoxicated by your scent. It was unplanned and it hit him, his actions were potentially uncalled for.
His head peeked up, however you startled him, with laughter released from your throat as your body surrendered to his hold.
“I’m having fun” You’d reply as you held eye contact with Choso. He released you from his grasp, letting you still be against him.
Choso started to speak up, your vision started to blur, you saw Yuki walking to you both from a distance but it was like the words weren’t coming out of your mouth. Maybe you shouldn't have drank so much.
Choso’s eyes darkened as he saw you slump next to him completely knock out.
“I'm having fun,” you reiterated, holding his gaze. He noticed your eyes weren't focusing on him anymore.
You tried to wave back to Yuki. Tried.
You suddenly felt reallly tireedd. You could barely lift your arms.The room seemed to tilt beneath your feet.
“Hey,” Choso said, his voice lower now. You blink at him softly “fun..” you say softly
Maybe you shouldn't have had that last drink.
Or the one before that.
The realization struck Choso a second before your knees buckled. His arm shot around your waist, catching your full weight before you could hit the floor.
“Hey?”
For the first time that night, there was something sharp in his voice.
Then Yuki appeared beside him. “Oh, for fuck's sake,” she sighed, taking one look at you. “How much did she drink?”
“I don't know.” Choso replied quickly, concerned, as he held you. Yuki's eyes flicked toward him, immediately noticing the concern written all over his face.
“She'll be okay,” Yuki said, already moving to take one of your arms. “She's a lightweight. Happens every time.”
Choso looked down at you. Peacefully resting, it looked like a nap.
“Come on,” Yuki said. “Let's get Sleeping Beauty to one of the guest rooms.”
Choso realized, only later, that he hadn't even caught your name. Or anything about you, really.
He sat across from Yuki after tucking you in and the questions came before he could stop them. Your name. Where you were from. What you were like
Yuki stared at him like he'd grown a second head.
Then she grinned, slow and insufferable.Yuki was bewildered by his curiosity but wasn’t surprised with the performance they’d pulled ‘dancing’.
"You've got a crush, Cho." It wasn't a question. She leaned forward, chin in her hand, delighted in a way that made him want to leave the room. "Didn't know you had it in you. A womanizer, of all things — kissing her neck and everything—"
“I didn’t— kiss her neck.” He replied curtly
“So what, you just smelled it?”
Choso looked away, his flushed embarrassment was all it took for Yuki to burst into laughter.
"Oh my God, that's somehow worse."
Choso groaned at her excitement rubbing a hand over his face. For the first time throughout this night genuine frustration slipped through his usual calm demeanor.
“If I'd known she was such a lightweight, I wouldn't have let her drink that much.” The words came out quieter than intended. Choso just felt fully frustrated with himself. You hadn't known what you were walking into tonight. Neither had he, but that felt like a poor excuse.
Yuki turned to look at her friend watching his expression sulk, patting his back softly, attempting to make him feel better.
"She doesn't get flirty because she's drunk. She gets drunk and becomes more herself."
Choso remained unconvinced.
“You dancing with her isn’t going to leave a bad impression on her”
"Besides," Yuki continued, "she probably won't remember half of tonight anyway.”
Choso snaps his head at the blonde girl next to him confusion dripping over his face as he awaits for a continuation of her sentence, Noticing choso’s desperation for more information, she obliges:
“She never does, whenever she gets black out drunk. She tends to forget most of it.” Yuki was scratching her golden hair as she cooed to Choso. “I don’t think she’d remember you”
His head snapped toward her. "What?"
"Yeah."
"What do you mean, 'yeah'?" He mocked her as she shrugged.
"When she gets that drunk, things get fuzzy. She'll remember bits and pieces. Usually."
Usually.
Choso didn't understand why the word bothered him so much. His gaze drifted to the now very far bar. The image of you dancing with him, And now Yuki told him you'd forget, with barely any fragments of him.
"That's stupid," he muttered. Yuki raised an eyebrow.
"What's stupid?"
"That she won't remember."
The words left his mouth before he could stop them.
Yuki's reaction was strong as she realized what was happening "Oh, wow," she said, leaning back into the couch. "You really like her."
Choso frowned. He barely knew you. He didn't know your favorite color. He didn't know what made you laugh when you were sober. He didn't even know your last name. Hell, he'd spent half the night dancing with you and hadn't bothered to ask for your name. Yet somehow the thought of being forgotten sat heavily in his chest.
Yuki grinned. "Look, if the opportunity comes up, I'll set you two up."
His eyes immediately flicked toward her. The reaction was so quick that Yuki burst out laughing.
"There he is."
Choso immediately looked away.
"I didn't say anything."
"You didn't have to."
Yuki stretched her arms over her head before standing. The smile on her face only grew as she watched him avoid eye contact.
"Besides, I think you've had a lot to drink too. You're usually way better at hiding your feelings."
Choso clicked his tongue in annoyance while Yuki laughed. It was almost embarrassing how easily she was reading him, but every mention of you seemed to pull a reaction from him before he could stop it. Yuki found it endlessly entertaining.
After that night you scurried away quickly, telling Yuki a ‘family emergency occurred’. You had no emergency of the sort; You’d just assumed you did something stupid and ran away before Yuki could make fun of you. Your memory worsened, more than usual, only a faint remembrance of a dance.
Yuki, keeping her word, tried to set you up with Choso, but you’d always decline. Sometimes you were busy and sometimes you’d just say you were. You weren’t ever fond of blind dates, and Yuki's insistent questioning wouldn’t change your opinion. It scared you more than you could handle.
So her pushing him to become your roommate was her last resort, But it worked out because he actually had work there and coincidentally your roommate left again.
It was the Universe's telltale sign.