#gekkan shojo nozaki -kun fic | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

cherry-kirsch · 6 years

Text

i like the way you look at me (when you look at me like that)

nozachiyo || 4379 words || sfw || fluff

Staying over to help Nozaki turns out to be the best thing that’s happened to her in a while.

[ AO3 ]

There's something oddly comforting, Chiyo realises, about Nozaki's presence.

For such a large man, he hardly seems to take up much space at all, at least, in a social point of view. He reserves himself to quiet observation and single sentences answers that are direct and to the point, and Chiyo can hardly see any fault in that, indirectness can often leave to unfortunate misunderstandings; after all, she of all people would know. Even now, hunched over the desk and wearing clothes seemingly so unfitting for his personality, Chiyo doesn't much notice him as she does see him, and as she pads into the room, she startles at the way he instantly notices her.

She offers him a smile. "Thank you for letting me stay over," she tells him softly. "And for letting me use your bathroom."

Nozaki just nods and turns back to his work. "It's no problem."

Chiyo takes her place on the pink cushion in front of the table, her legs tucked underneath her, and picks up her pen. She's long since given up on being discouraged by Nozaki's lack of enthusiastic response — he's not a particularly enthusiastic person, not in trivial moments such as these. She uncaps the brush pen and turns to the paper in front of her, leaning over it in her effort to concentrate on the intricately fine details of the background, and, when she looks up, she tries not to stare at how intently Nozaki is staring at her.

She offers him a shaky, nervous smile, and his brows furrow slightly. "Is…" She begins, her voice no more than a mumble. "Is something the matter?" She asks.

"No," Nozaki says matter-of-factly. "Would you like something to eat?" He asks.

"But… We just ate dinner…" Chiyo replies feebly, not wanting to feel rude.

Nozaki shrugs. "You can have something if you like."

Chiyo blinks at him before she nods carefully. "Oh, uh… Sure I guess…" She replies, watching Nozaki as he pushes his chair away from his desk and pads into the kitchen, switching on the light as he goes. She opens his mouth to tell him that she'll just have whatever is easiest, maybe a cookie or something, but in an instant Nozaki is back and in his hands is a plate of strawberry cheesecake. With wide eyes, she watches as he sets it down on the table in front of her, placing down a fork a moment later, and reassumes his position at his desk. "Nozaki… How…" She can barely manage to get a word out.

"Cheesecake is your favourite, right?" He asks, half-turning to her as she nods, staring down at the cheesecake.

"Yes, it is." She replies, pulling the china plate and fork towards her as she looks up at Nozaki. "But how did you know?"

Nozaki pauses for a moment and then shrugs. "Lucky guess." He says.

Chiyo nods and looks back down at the cheesecake, and then she pickup the fork and digs in. The first forkful is heaven on her tongue; the creaminess of the cheesecake and the tanginess of the strawberries compliment each other in such an utterly perfect way that Chiyo can help but squeeze her eyes shut and squeal quietly in delight. When she opens her eyes, cheeks flushed and a grin spread across her lips, she isn't surprised to see Nozaki watching her with a soft, almost amused smile.

"It's good! The strawberry is amazing, and it's so creamy!" She tell him enthusiastically, and without thinking she digs into the cheesecake again, lifting a forkful up to Nozaki. "Here! Try some!"

For a moment, the fork hangs wordlessly between them and Chiyo realises what kind of a position she has put herself in, because now Nozaki has three options. Option 1) Nozaki takes the fork from her and eats the bite like that, Option 2) Nozaki refuses and turns back to his work, or, Option 3) (arguably the worst option in Chiyo's opinion) Nozaki eats the cheesecake directly off the fork while she's still holding it. And, unfortunately for Chiyo, Nozaki decides to go against everything Chiyo thought she knew about him and leans forward to eat the cheesecake directly off the fork, successfully completing Option 3; Chiyo's worst nightmare.

Chiyo flushes bright red as Nozaki pulls away, nodding appreciatively, covering her eyes with her hands as she tries desperately to think of anything beside the fact that she and Nozaki technically just shared an indirect kiss via cheesecake fork. For a moment she feels like she’s going to cry.

"You're right," Nozaki says. "The cheesecake is good. I'll have to get more of it some time." Chiyo lets out a squeak of agreement and quickly shovels the rest of the cheesecake in her mouth before she turns back to her work, trying to ignore the way her stomach churns excitedly at the thought of Nozaki. "Are you alright? You look a bit red…"

Laughing nervously, Chiyo shakes her head furiously. "No-No! I'm fine!"

Nozaki frowns at her. "You look hot."

If possible, Chiyo flushes even redder, her eyes going as wide as saucers as she stares Nozaki down. "E-Excuse me?" She squeaks.

"I said you look a bit hot, would you like me to open a window?" Nozaki repeats.

Of course, Chiyo says to herself (slightly disappointed) as she breathes an imaginary sigh of relief, that’s what he meant.

“Don’t worry about it, Nozaki-kun,” She tells him with a reassuring smile. “I’m fine. Don’t bother yourself over me.”

Nozaki just stares at her a moment longer before he nods once and turns back to his desk, gathering his papers, Chiyo watches him before she turns back to the papers in front of her, once again momentarily distracted when she senses someone settling across from her, and feeling extremely confused when she notices that the person across from her is Nozaki.

She blinks at him as he settles comfortably on his cushion, laying his pens neatly beside his drawing board. “What are you doing?” Chiyo asks, though it comes out more of a statement than a question.

“Joining you,” Nozaki replies easily, hardly glancing up at her.

“I know that,” She replies. “I mean; what are you doing joining me?” She clarifies.

Nozaki finally meets her gaze. “I thought it may have been a little lonely for you, sitting down here alone now that everyone else had gone,” he looks almost nervous now. “So I was thinking I would join you… If you wanted.”

“Yes!” Chiyo replies, quickly swiping her arm across the table to push all of her pencils across to her side and create a space for Nozaki. Upon noticing Nozaki’s stare she flushes and stares down at her paper. “I mean… It’s nice that you joined me. Thank you.”

Nozaki gives her a small smile, a tiny upturn of his lips. “No problem.”

Chiyo smiles shakily back and turns back to her paper.

The words and lines are swimming in front of her eyes, turning into a swirl of black and white ink and fading pencil lines, and she suddenly regrets eating that cheesecake because of the wild churning of her stomach due to having Nozaki so close to her.

Her chest squeezes whenever she looks up at him, and she gets butterflies just thinking about him. When she had told Mikorin, who had remained blasé despite his usual tendency to run his mouth about news such as this, he had just smiled and told her, “You’re in love, Chiyo.”

Love? She wasn’t in love.

That’s what she used to tell herself, at least. She had never even thought of her feelings for Nozaki outside of a school-girl crush, let alone love. She couldn’t even think of the word without going bright pink and hiding her face in her hands, completely embarrassed.

And that’s what she was doing now, hiding her head in her hands because she thought about the fact she was most definitely, truly, irrevocably in love with Nozaki Umetarou.

And the worst part is that he doesn't love her back.

She stands abruptly. “I should probably get going!” She says shakily, beginning to shove her pencils haphazardly into her pencil box.

“Oh,” Nozaki replies, sounding only the slightest bit disappointed. “Weren’t you staying over?”

Chiyo flushes red in embarrassment. “I meant I should get going to bed.” She hastily corrects herself and Nozaki nods.

“Okay,” he says, standing up. “You can take my bed—”

“NO!” Chiyo cries and Nozaki stops to stare at her halfway through turning down his bed. “I-It’s alright! I… I’ll just… sleep on the sofa…” She says, already grabbing the cushion she was sitting on from beneath her and clutching it to her chest.

Nozaki shook his head. “No, Chiyo, I insist.” He says, gesturing to the bed. “It’s only right that you take the bed. You’re the guest.”

Chiyo hesitates, shuffling nervously on the balls of her feet, dithering. Finally, she sighs and drops the cushion onto the floor. “Okay…” She says. “If you insist… But, at least let me help you make the bed on the sofa.”

Nozaki nods, pleased, and pulls a duvet and two pillows out from the storage under his bed. He passes the pillows to Chiyo and she follows him into the living room, allowing him to spread the duvet over the sofa and turn it down before she places the pillows at the top of the sofa.

Honestly, Chiyo thought this would take longer.

“Well,” she begins, a nervous smile on her face as she turns to Nozaki. “Goodnight.” She says, and, before she can even think, she leans up on her tiptoes and plants a kiss on his lips.

She pulls back and meets Nozaki’s surprised gaze, his hands rested on top of hers, and she goes as red as her ribbons, immediately dissolving into a puddle of stuttering and embarrassment.

“Nozaki!” She cries, hardly listening when he starts to speak. “I’m so so so so so so sorry! I… I didn’t mean to do that, I swear. Look, I’m just going to leave, we can forget that I did that; please forget that I did that. Oh my God.”

Chiyo is silenced by Nozaki’s hands on either side of her face, pulling it up so his eyes can meet hers. He looks so serious that Chiyo can’t help but whimper slightly, her eyes welling up with tears. “Chiyo,” he says. “I love you.”

This time, she does cry. “D-Don’t… say that just to make me feel better,” she says, already trying to dry her tears with her hands. “You don’t have to. It’s alright, I’ll just—”

“Chiyo,” Nozaki repeats. “I love you.”

Chiyo groans in frustration, stamping her foot. “Why do you keep repeating that?” She asks throwing her hands in the air. “Are you trying to get back at me for kissing you? Honestly I didn’t take you for that kind of person but—”

“I keep repeating it because it’s true,” Nozaki says quietly. “I love you Sakura Chiyo. Really.”

Chiyo stops, her eyes widening. “You… love me?” She asks softly, tears still dripping gently down her cheeks. “Are… you sure?”

Nozaki laughs at that, brushing a few tears from her cheeks with his thumbs. “Yes, I love you. And yes, I’m sure.” He tells her, and Chiyo laughs back, leaning into his touch. “Would you like a tissue?” He asks.

“Yes,” Chiyo hiccups. “That would be nice.”

She lets Nozaki sit her on the sofa and thrusts a few tissues into her hands, and she dries her eyes carefully for a moment, trying not to think about how Nozaki has his arm around her.

“How…” She begins, unsure of how to phrase her question as she turns to him. “How did you realize that you… loved me?”

Nozaki considers this for a moment. “I think it must have been the fireworks festival,” he says, nodding. “Yes. When we were sitting on the climbing frame, watching the fireworks, I looked at you and thought that if I could choose a moment to get stuck in forever, I’d choose that one. With you.”

“I confessed to you then,” Chiyo says sharply and Nozaki’s eyebrows shoot up. “While we were watching the fireworks. You misheard me, but you smiled and I thought that maybe just staying friends would you wouldn’t be so bad. I didn’t want to sacrifice our friendship by repeating what I said.”

Nozaki moves closer to Chiyo, wrapping her tightly in his arms and resting his head on top of hers. “You should have.” He says. “At least I would have known.”

Chiyo laughs, wiping the last of the tears away with her fingers. “I think I was better off with you not knowing.” Nozaki pauses before he leans back and shifts Chiyo so she’s facing him and he has his hands on her shoulders. Chiyo stares at him. “Nozaki…?”

“Chiyo, can I kiss you?” he asks and Chiyo squeals loudly, slapping a hand across her mouth.

“I… I… Nozaki!” she manages to squeeze out before she sighs, pushes her hair back from her face and nods, looking up at him. “O-Okay…”

Carefully, he moves his hand up to cup her cheek. “Is this okay?” He asks, and when she nods furiously he moves his other hand to her hip. “This too?” She nods again and he leans in closer, stops and locks eyes with hers. “I’m going to kiss you now,” he says softly. “Okay?”

Chiyo is almost buzzing beneath his fingers, running off nervousness. “Okay,” she agrees, nodding again as her breath hitches when he leans closer. “Wait.” She says and he does as she pushes hair away from her mouth. “I’m ready now. You can kiss me.”

Nozaki chuckles and nuzzles his nose gently against hers. “You’re just so cute.” He tells her, and she can hardly suppress a squeak when Nozaki leans in to capture her lips in a kiss.

The kiss isn’t how she imagined it would be. It’s not toe-curling, or eyelash-fluttering, or breath-taking, and it doesn’t taste like strawberry chapstick. His lips are firm on hers, slightly chapped and warm, and he holds her like she’s about to break, his fingers brushing the curve of her cheekbones and the pink blush of her cheeks.

If she had to put a sensation to the kiss, she’d say it was like a favorite sweater—warm, comforting, and something alike to what you’d wrap around yourself after coming home from a long day of work. The feeling of Nozaki seems to be all around her now, she can smell the tangerine scent of his shampoo and taste the cheesecake on his lips, and she melts into his hands and embrace like she’s belonged there all along.

When he leans back, scanning Chiyo’s face, she’s dazed, her eyes half-lidded and fixed on his lips.

“Chiyo?” Nozaki asks carefully, his hands dropping from her face to caress her arm in a way that leaves her skin tingling. “Are you alright?” He adds.

Chiyo nods and looks up lazily, finally meet his eyes. “You can kiss me again,” She says softly. “If you’d like.”

Nozaki smiles, mischievous and brilliantly bright. She wants to lean up and kiss that delicious smile from his lips. “Hmm… I’m not sure…” He says, and Chiyo seizes the front of her shirt, pulling herself up until they’re face to face—her eyes peering into his with such innocence sincerity that he wants to blush and hide his face from her.

“I am.” She says, and Nozaki doesn’t think there is anything more brilliant that Chiyo demanding what she wants. “I want you to kiss me again, please.” She asks breathlessly and Nozaki complies. He pulls away and she grips his sweatshirt tighter. “Again?” She asks and he does. “Again?”

“Again?” He repeats, faking confusion with a smile that steadily crawls across his lips. “But I just kissed you again times three. How many more ‘again’s do you want?” He asks her.

Chiyo thinks for a moment, releasing his sweatshirt as she falls back into her seat, before she smiles up at him and opens her arms wide. “The word ‘again’ is relative—If I had it my way, I’d have every ‘again’ with you until the end of time.”

Nozaki crooks an eyebrow and looks down at her. “Are you asking me to be your boyfriend Chiyo?” He asks, and, for the split-second she looks dumbfounded, Nozaki thinks he might’ve gone too far.

But she smiles, crosses her legs and smiles up at him, offering him her hand. “And what if I was? Would you say yes?” She asks, and the question is so simply said, that Nozaki takes her hand, brings it to his lips and kisses each finger individually before he lets his lips linger on the back of her hand.

“Of course,” He says, and he loves the way she flushes at the words, her hand still resting in his. “Then I’ll get to call you my girlfriend.”

She snatches her hand back and hides her flushed face behind them, wiggling her toes as she brings her knees to her chest. “Dork.” She tells him, but the word is muffled through where she’s buried her face into her shirt. “You’re too cute.”

Nozaki carefully peels her hands from her face and smiles. “If anything you’re too cute.” He says, and Chiyo feels fifty degrees hotter and just assumes the position of resident tomato-impersonator.

“Stop!” She says, though she’s giggling, her nose scrunched up and a wide grin curling her lips.

“I love you Sakura Chiyo.” He says and she giggles again, smiling brightly with her eyes squeezed shut.

“Stop!”

He smiles. “I love you!” He declares.

“I love you too!” She says back loudly, happily, and though she looks startled when she realizes what she’s said, she doesn’t clap her hand over her mouth, she just moves one to her cheek and smiles serenely. “That’s the first time I’ve said that out loud… I’ve thought it, but it’s different saying it."

Nozaki nods seriously, understanding. “Then say it.” He says and Chiyo peers at him curiously. “Say it until it sounds natural.”

Chiyo nods and steels herself, putting on a serious expression that just makes her look ten times cuter. “I love you Nozaki Umetarou!” She declares and Nozaki nods.

“Again!” He says.

“I love Nozaki Umetarou!” She repeats, giggling as she topples back a little, looking overjoyed with the entire ordeal.

“Again!” he says.

Chiyo laughs and pushes her hair from her face. “How many more ‘again’s do you want?” She asks.

Nozaki takes both of her hands in his. “As many as you’ll let me have.” He tells her and she doesn’t know what else to do but stare at him. “I want every ‘again’ with you as many times as you’ll let me.”

“You can have all of them,” Chiyo blurts. “You can have every single ‘again’ I have.”

Nozaki nods. “And you can have all of mine too.”

Chiyo thinks for a moment. “You know, all of our ‘again’s together equal one forever.”

“That,” Nozaki says with a small smile, his thumb brushing gently over Chiyo’s knuckles. “I think we can share.”

Chiyo smiles right back. “I think I’d like that.”

They sit like that for a moment, comfortable in their silence, until Nozaki gets an idea. It springs to his mind seemingly out of nowhere, his mind scanning the codex he keeps in his brain of all the cute romantic gestures he has memorized for his manga, and, before Chiyo can say anything, he has peeled off his sweatshirt and handed it to Chiyo.

“For you.” He says seriously, and though Chiyo takes it, she blinks down at it in confusion.

She looks back up at him. “What for?”

“A gesture.” Nozaki says, and he begins to doubt the decision. “Girlfriends like wearing their boyfriend’s clothes, right? So, you can wear my sweater. Unless… you don’t want to…”

Chiyo is already shaking her head furiously before he can finish his last sentence. “No, no! I want to!” She insists quickly, and she pulls it over her head, standing up to adjust it around her body.

It goes down to her knees and her arms barely make it halfway through the sleeves, but she smiles as if she just been bestowed with diamonds and pulls the hood up over her head, laughing when it flops over her eyes and obscures Nozaki from view. He chuckles and pushes the hood back so her eyes aren’t covered at absent mindedly pats her head. She smiles and tucks her hands into the pocket, grinning at him as she rocks back and forth on the balls of her feet.

“Well?” She asks, giving him a spin. “How do I look? Does it suit me?”

Nozaki looks her up at down. “You look small.” He says.

She rolls her eyes. “I’m small anyway.”

“But… you look cute,” He adds and Chiyo falls silent, her cheeks going pink. “My clothes suit you.”

Chiyo smiles and brings the neck of the hoodie up to her nose, hiding the bottom half of her face in it. “You’re sweet,” she tells him. “In a sort of shoujo-manga kinda way.”

Nozaki has the tack to look sheepish. “I… may have taken tips on how to confess to you from shoujo manga.” He admits and though Chiyo sighs, she’s still smiling; Nozaki’s awkwardness in anything that isn’t romance manga is endearing. “But it worked. So, who says that manga is entirely inaccurate?”

Chiyo laughs and smothers the sound with the sleeve of Nozaki’s sweatshirt. “I guess you’re right.” She says, sitting back beside him on the sofa, swinging her legs idly. “How did you know that strawberry cheesecake was my favorite?” She asks him.

“You mentioned it to me,” Nozaki tells her. “We were sitting doing work and talking about your birthday. You were complaining about how the bakery had ran out of your favorite cheesecake so you couldn’t get a slice after school.” He quickly explains after noticing Chiyo’s look of confusion. “I… remembered.”

She blinks up at him, her heart fluttering in her chest. “I… don’t even remember that,” she admits quietly. “Why did you remember that? I mean! It was a lovely surprise, I’m just curious.”

Nozaki shrugs a little and leans back on the sofa. “I love you,” he says, and it never ceases to make her heart squeeze a little in her chest and leave a smile curling on her lips. “I remember things about the people I love.”

Chiyo nods and makes a noise of acknowledgement, smiling happily to herself. She glances at Nozaki and the way he’s casually leaning against the arm of the sofa and thinks fleetingly about leaning into his arms and curling up on top of his body, but the thought quickly leaves her as he glances down at her and she looks away, cheeks on fire.

Nozaki looks at her a moment and then opens him arms towards her wordlessly. She looks at him. “Do you want me to get something for you?” She asks nervously, unsure of what Nozaki was trying to tell her.

“No.” He says, and he opens his arms a little wider, turning his body towards her.

“Are you cold?” She asks, her brows furrowed in confusion. “Why are your arms open like that?”

Nozaki looks at her. “You want to cuddle, don’t you?” He asks and Chiyo stares at him gob smacked, her mouth hanging open.

Chiyo can’t even begin to describe how… strange it sounds to have a stoic and blunt man such as Nozaki say a word like ‘cuddle’. He stares down at her with the same expression he uses when looking at everything, his arms open for her to fall into, and Chiyo stares right back, feeling so suddenly out of her depth.

Despite her initial shock, she nods. “Yes.” She says, and when she shuffles closer to Nozaki awkwardly and rests her head on his chest, his arms curl around her and she lets out an involuntary sigh, rubbing her cheek against the fabric of his shirt. “You’re warm.” She tells him softly.

“Are you cold?” He asks her.

Chiyo considers this. “A little.” She admits and Nozaki immediately wraps the duvet around them both, leaving Chiyo in his arms and being careful that she wasn’t being jostled.

“Better?” He asks her, his arms squeezing her softly.

Chiyo nods and curls closer to the heat of Nozaki’s body, her cheek smooshed against his chest and the warm weight of the duvet against her as Nozaki shuffles into a position where she’s practically curled up on top of him.

She lets out a warm sigh. “Yeah.” She says, allowing her eyes to close.

She feels Nozaki’s hands carding through her hair, fiddling with it gently, and she lets out another sigh. When he chuckles, she feels it in her bones as a warm, shaky feeling, and his chest barely moves. Then his fingers are brushing her cheek, pushing hair from her face and petting her absently.

“Are you falling asleep, Chiyo?” Nozaki asks in bemusement.

Chiyo makes an indignant noise. “No.” She grumbles.

She can almost feel him smiling. “You sound sleepy to me.” He says, letting out an amused puff of air when she makes a non-committal noise. “It’s okay if you are. You can fall asleep if you want.”

“Okay.” She whispers quietly, her hand curling gently over the fabric of his shirt. “Then I will.”

Nozaki hums lowly. “You look so cute when you’re sleepy. You know that?” He asks and Chiyo is so tired out from the evening that she can’t even manage to make a noise as Nozaki gently strokes her cheek. “Sleep tight, I’m right here for you.”

Before Chiyo drifts into the land of dreams she feels the faint weight of Nozaki’s lips on her forehead and the sound of a quiet, whispered ‘I love you’.

She wakes with Nozaki’s arms around her, fast asleep, as his head rests atop hers, and as a smile crosses her lips, she can’t help but lean up and leave a soft kiss against his cheek.

After all, being with Nozaki like this is everything she’s ever dreamed.

#my writing #gekkan shojo #gekkan shojo nozaki-kun #gekkan shoujo nozaki-kun #nozaki umetarou #umetarou nozaki #sakura chiyo #chiyo sakura #nozachiyo #nozaki x chiyo #fluff #gsnk #gsnk fic #gekkan shojo nozaki -kun fic #gekkan shojo nozaki kun #gekkan shojo nozaki kun fic #nozachiyo fic #fanfiction

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