jujutsu kaisen oneshots || requests closed

smile // junpei yoshino

i just wanted to write something a little cuter since i feel bad for writing the last one the way i did. beware of typos and enjoy! :)

~~~

Hands occasionally brushing one another, you and Junpei walked through a park. His eyes were shining with something similar to pure admiration. True, he had found himself falling for you and all your charm, but he would never admit that out loud. It was bad enough you were his friend. If anybody saw you together right now, surely you'd be roped into getting bullied by his side. And if he can't protect himself against Shota Ito, how could he protect you? The last thing he would want is to get you involved and you getting hurt. 

Despite his fears, something in the back of his mind urged him to just allow himself to be comfortable around you without constantly looking over his shoulder and stop giving a damn. Something told him it would all play out perfectly and that you would be able to handle the bullies on your own. He ignored that, though, and continued to be cautious. Better to be safe than sorry, right?

Even though he was playing it safe, he knew eventually you would find out and take matters in to your own hands. You tended to get hotheaded over simple things often and so he tried his best to keep his bullies and what they do to him out of your sight. He couldn't even imagine what would happen to you if you ended up confronting Shota and his cronies.

A comfortable silence built between the both of you and you sighed happily, burying your face in your scarf. He smiled at the sight and a happy sigh fell from his lips as well. "(Y/N)?"

You looked up at him with a soft smile. "Hmm?"

He decided to finally gauge how you would act once you find out and his face flushed, a wave of embarrassment washing over him. "What would you do if a friend of yours was being bullied?"

At this, you looked away, thinking of the best course of action. You didn't realize the nature of his question, and fortunately for Junpei, you were oblivious as all hell. "I guess I would report the bullying and ensure the adults would do something." This calmed his nerves. "And if they don't do anything, I would teach those bitches a lesson. I don't give a damn about the repercussions, I'd just do what I can to at least lighten the load a bit, if that makes sense-"

Wait, what? Junpei wished he could say he was shocked. Well, he was by the first part of your plan, but the second half of it certainly wasn't new to him. He sighed again, though this one wasn't nearly as joyous as the last. "Y'know, that would be really reckless of you. What if you ended up making things worse, or ended up getting caught up in the bullying, too?"

You smiled. "I'm not afraid of any bullies, Junpei. If they want to fight, we can fight. I may not be as strong as them, but I sure as hell won't let them get away with what they're doing."

At this, his expression softened. "You're brave, (Y/N). Braver than most."

~~~

Weeks followed that day, and nothing had changed. Junpei had been successfully been hiding his bullies from you and you were oblivious as ever. He didn't mind hiding it from you, because the way he saw it, he was protecting you. Or at least he was. Unfortunately, things didn't go according to plan and you ended up stumbling upon Shota Ito kicking and spitting mean words at Junpei. 

Anger unlike any kind you have felt before bubbled up inside you before finally overflowing, and what you did next startled everybody. "HEY! You leave my friend alone!" You shouted.

"Oh, yeah? Or what, bitch?" He sneered, clearly irritated by the fact that you had interrupted his favorite part of the day. 

You rolled your eyes and started walking toward him. From the corner of your eye, you could see Junpei waving his hands and shaking his head, trying to get you to stop. You flashed him a quick smile before winding your leg back and sending a kick so hard, it knocked Shota over. The strength behind your kick shocked even you as you stared at him in amazement.

Quickly letting that boost your ego, you turned to the other boys who looked even more upset now. Junpei had to shield his eyes. He couldn't bare to look at the scene, even if you were winning. As much as he would have liked to see you kick those guys around, he didn't want to risk opening his eyes to see you getting beaten to a pulp. Not even a minute later, he heard you shout again.

"You leave him alone from now on, you hear me?!" You panted.

Junpei opened his eyes to find you crouched in front of him with a soft smile on your face and bloodied fists. "(Y/N)... you're bleeding..."

You wiped your nose, finding that you were, indeed bleeding. "Oh, that must be from when he elbowed me. Stupid bitch. Anyway, how are you? Can you stand?" You offered him your somewhat clean hand and he gratefully took it.

"Why... why did you help?" He asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

Your smile widened and you gave him a look. "I said I would, didn't I?"

He smiled, too, and pulled you in for a hug. "Thank you, (Y/N)."

"Of course." You were startled by his hug, but hugged back nonetheless.

~~~

"Hey, why didn't you tell me?" you finally asked, later that day, as you both were laying on the floor in his bedroom. The two of you often did this, lie on the floor. It ended up being an almost daily thing for the both of you, and today wasn't unlike any other.

He groaned for a second and didn't say anything. "I was trying to protect you, in some sort of way. I'm sorry for keeping it from you, but I didn't want you getting involved."

"That's okay, Junpei. But if they continue to bother you, let me know. I just want to see you smile, y'know? You don't deserve whatever they've been doing to you and it bothers me that you put up with it for so long." You looked at him warily.

He sighed. "Yeah, me too. And I want to see you smile, too. So let's both do what we can to make that, happen, alright?"

You smiled and rolled closer to him before pressing a soft kiss to his lips. "Yeah, let's do that."