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You notice him two months into the course.
Well— it’s not like you know who he is. But until that faithful day, you only knew him vaguely as a name and some man in your class.
He styles his chef coat differently than everyone else. Most people button it all the way to the top, but he leaves the top one untouched so that it can hang down slightly. He’s the only one who does it in your class— you find it vaguely impressive.
He’s not in your group— he got paired with a mutual friend, Satoru, and another boy named Haibara. They’re nothing special— besides just being friends with you. Nanami’s the only one you notice. Your own group with Suguru and Shoko is definitely more functional than those three.
He never looks your way. If he does, it’s to look at the professor or to find an ingredient that just so happens to be near you.
Even when you’re serving lunches next to each other, he doesn’t bother acknowledging your presence. Always just helping customers, and when he needs help, he looks past you and to someone else.
It infuriates you. But you can’t seem to say anything, even when Suguru brings it up to you.
“You’re not slick,” he says one day as the two of you work on a stirfry recipe together. Shoko’s serving today, so she wasn’t able to help you prepare. You’ll remember to scold her about it later.
“What do you mean?” you ask, feigning confusion. He gives you a look, before sighing.
“You’re either just lying to yourself at this point, or you’re really oblivious,” he says, head tilting. His hand pauses. “You like Nanami.”
Your eyes widen. “I— I do not!” You’re quick to defend, Suguru notices. He also notices how you’re nervous around the subject too. It makes him chuckle.
“Sure you don’t like him,” he teases. “And the sky isn’t blue. Okay, I got it.”
Your eyebrows furrow. “You— you’re a bad friend, Suguru.”
“Okay, but at least I don’t make my crushes obvious— hey!”
You shove his shoulder and he laughs, swatting your arm in return. “You like someone? Since when?”
“Since I’ve met him,” he tells you. “You’ve been too stubborn in the head to notice, though.”
Your brow furrows. “I’m not,” you firmly say.
“You are,” Satoru’s voice interrupts, approaching you and Suguru. He places a hand around the brunet’s waist and you glare. “What? It’s true.”
Suguru looks at the smug male. He frowns. “How much did you hear?”
“Like— the whole conversation. Don’t look at me like that, I won’t tell Nanamin a thing. Okay?”
You glare at Satoru when he winks at you. “That was a private conversation!” you fume at him.
“And?” he retorts. “You were talking about it in public. Boohoo.”
Suguru gives Satoru a glare. “Shouldn’t you be working on your recipe? Haibara isn’t the sharpest tool in the shed without you around, y’know.”
“Yeah!” you interrupt, hands pressing into the small of his back, shoving him in the direction of his own group. “Go! Shoo! Work!”
He laughs as you push him away, making a small commotion. You see Nanami look your way when he sees Satoru, and you divert your gaze quickly.
“Oh! Thank you,” Haibara says. “I needed someone to gut the fish! Satoru can do that now.”
His eyes widen before he makes a disgruntled noise, “… Fine. I hate you, though.”
You laugh. “No slacking off!” you order him as you walk back to Suguru. He gives you a big thumbs up.
Satoru approaches you after class.
“So like— you actually like Nanami? Like— ‘I have a crush’ type of liking?”
You look away, fuming as you lean against the wall. “Maybe. Probably. Yes.”
Instead of laughing, he just… stares. “I— wow. I can’t believe it. I don’t see what you see in him. He’s so boring.”
“He’s hot, ‘Toru,” you argue. “Do you even see him?”
“… He’s like a brick wall,” he sighs, running a hand through his hair. His other rests on the desk beside him. “No emotion. Stoic. Especially boring.”
“He’s not! You’re probably too dense to notice anything.”
“Didn’t Suguru say you were the dense one?” he counters, grabbing your wrists as you bring them up to whack his head.
“… No.”
“Liar.”
“Oh, I’ll get your throat—“ you start, hands trying to break his grasp. He doesn’t falter, and you sigh, before giving up. “… I guess not, then. Your grip is hurting me, by the way.”
He chuckles, letting go. “Fine! I’ll set you free.” His gaze drops to your wrist, and he blinks, seeing the slightly red marks. “Oops.”
Shaking your hands off, you let out an exhale. “You don’t know your strength, huh?” you tell him, a small grinning baring itself on your lips.
“Dunno,” he says. “Sorry, though. But— you are too physical sometimes.”
“Maybe it’s because you’re annoying,” you blame him.
“Oh, that’s not true. Who could possibly call me annoying?”
You shrug. “Oh, I dunno… Suguru, Shoko, me, Yaga sensei, just to name a few. And I’m pretty sure Haibara just internalizes it.”
He blinks, and uses a hand to pull down his glasses. “You’re lying.”
“I would never,” you tell him. “Not to the esteemed Satoru, anyway!”
His eyebrows raise. “I think you’re just a… ah.”
He looks to the doorway, and furrows his brow. You also look that way, and you see Nanami just staring at you two. You and Satoru are squished up against the wall.
Ah.
“Nanamin! I didn’t see ya there!” he says as you shuffle to hide behind him, hand waving up to greet the blond man. “Wanna hang out after class and get boba, hm?”
He glares at him. Not you. Him. “It’s already after class, Satoru. And I would’ve refused, anyway.” He looks at you, and his gaze lowers. He’s looking at your wrists. You instinctively fold over your arms to hide them, and he walks over to the desk where the two of you stand. Shit.
“Do you get injured in class?” he asks you, worrisome present throughout his voice.
“No. I’ll be fine though. Don’t worry!” you reassure him, playing it off as you try your best to hide your nervousness. Excitement? You’re not sure. “Nothing happened.”
He pauses, before sighing. “If you insist.” He faces Satoru and glares at him. “Suguru texted me asking to get you.”
The white haired man’s eyes widened. “What for?”
“I think it’s a practice session, or something. I don’t play basketball. Ask him instead.”
Satoru blinks, and his mouth opens, understanding. “Ohhh. I forgot! Shit! Shitshitshit. See you!” He grabs his bag and sprints out the classroom, voice quieting as the distance between him and the two of you widens.
Nanami turns to you, and you realize this is the first time you’ve actively engaged in conversation with Nanami without him ignoring you. It’s a bit weird. “I’m… sorry.”
Your head tilts as you try to wrap your mind around the situation. “What for?”
He pinches the bridge of his nose. “Satoru was bugging you, no?”
You nod. “Okay, but that’s like— normal Satoru behavior.”
He looks at you funny. “You’re on a first name basis with him?”
“Yeah. Childhood friends. I dunno how I’ve stuck up with his annoying ass for so long,” you explain, shrugging. “It’s fine though. He’s pretty chill.” You’re surprised how easily the words flow out of your mouth. You’re not sure how you haven’t withered away in your spot yet.
Nanami sighs. “I… wouldn’t exactly call him chill, but I suppose he isn’t as troublesome as he used to be. His energy has died down quite a bit over the past few years.”
You nod. “I see.”
He pauses, and then looks down at your wrists. Again. You hide your hands behind your back, and suddenly that nervous feeling makes you lightheaded go through your head.
“What happened?” he asks again, voice quieter as he leans closer. “You can be honest.”
You look off to the side. “Nothing, I swear—“
“I won’t take that as an answer,” he interrupts. “I took a medical course in high school. I know someone grabbed you, and I don’t tolerate such actions. What happened?”
His voice holds an anger to it that you’ve never heard before, and you take a small step back. Your feet meet the wall. “… ‘Toru grabbed my wrists.”
He notices your discomfort and takes a step back. When you realize what he’s thinking, you raise your arms in surrender. “Not— not in a bad way! I was trying to… slap him.”
Nanami’s eyes soften, and he turns away, chuckling. You’re starting to hate the feeling of having a crush.
“Slap him?” he asks incredulously. “Why would you need to do such a thing?”
You can feel your cheeks grow warm— and you pray he doesn’t notice.
“He was— he was being an asshole!” you complain, watching how his eyes widen ever so slightly. They look like honey. You like honey. You like him.
Nanami’s head tilts. “Was he now?” he teases you. “I didn’t peg Satoru as the annoying type.”
“… I don’t know whether you’re joking or not,” you admit, tapping your fingers on the table. He notices and looks down at them.
“You have nice hands,” he blurts, making you pause the action.
“Thanks?” you manage to squeeze out, voice confused. That’s a first— no one’s ever called your hands nice. You suppose Nanami notices the small things about people. It makes you feel even more flustered.
Thick tension fills the room momentarily, before he quietly says something you can’t quite understand. Well, you just choose not to believe it.
“Do you want to go get boba with me tonight?”
You can’t believe your ears. You choose not to. “I— what?”
He turns his whole body away and takes a few steps, so he can completely avoid you. “Go out with me. Please?” he mumbles.
“… I can go,” you quietly tell him. “If you want me to.”
He looks back at you. “You… you want to go?” he asks, voice matching your tone. You nod.
“If you’re inviting me, then… sure,” you hug confirm, taking a step his way. “I would happily agree to a uh… hangout with you.”
Hangout. Date. How utterly ridiculous. You silently cringe at yourself.
But Nanami still looks like he’s on cloud nine. It’s cute. But you’re still embarrassed by what you said, and you avoid eye contact with him.
Thick tension fills the air. You break it when you ask, “What time are you available tonight?”
He pauses. His hand rubs the back of his neck nervously. “I’m free the whole day,” he mutters.
You smile. “How about six?”
“… That works with me,” he nods.
A date. A date with Nanami.
You can’t believe it.