Dear (Y/n),
From the first time you and I met, I thought of you as one of the most fascinating people that could have walked into my life. You seemed to not care at all about what other people thought of you, and you were so friendly. At first, you were just another friend I made, but it soon changed from that.
You and I may not have been friends for very long, and you may not feel the same way that I do. I completely understand that fact, and I apologize if this ruins our friendship. Before I do finalize my emotions, I would like to admit that I have never felt like this with anyone before. It feels foreign to admit this to you. Once again, I genuinely apologize if this ruins our friendship.
I think I may have grown too attached to you and your presence. When you’re in the room, no matter whether you’re talking to me or not, I get nervous. Though, in a good way, if that makes sense. When we hadn’t known each other for more than a month, you told me that I was one of the only people you trusted, and that meant a lot to me. You really have no idea how much it meant to me to be important to you. Through everything you’ve been through, getting ahold of your trust was as precious as your very being. Anything and everything about you just makes me so unnecessarily and indescribably happy. Your honesty and grace is what really lured me. No matter what, your so passionate about what you believe in. If you have an opinion, everyone is going to hear it whether they want to or not.
Sorry for dragging this on and not getting to the point, I know I’m normally blunt. What I want to tell you, and what I’ve wanted to say for a while is, I really like you, (Y/n).
~ Mezo Shoji
***
Nothing you had ever read made your heart skip like this letter did. It almost felt as though you were dreaming. Afraid you would wake up, you held the letter close to your chest as you blink three times, each time expecting to see your bedroom ceiling to be above you when your eyes opened. You even went as far as to pinch yourself, genuinely surprised to find yourself still sitting on the couch.
A knot grew in the back of your throat, something you hadn’t felt in a while. Though, as you put weight on your feet and felt them carry you out of the living room, you could tell this tightness was different from what it normally was. When you reach the kitchen, Shoji had his back turned to you while he dried the dishes he had used to make lunch. The sound of pressure on the floor caused his body to tense, his hands freezing in an uncomfortable stance.
Without another second of hesitation, you rush towards him, wrapping your arms around his surprising slim waist. Tears brim your eyes as you embrace him close to you, smiling like a lovestruck school girl. However, the touch doesn’t seem to make him any less tense. At this point, he was waiting for you to speak.
“Mezo,” Your voice was almost a whisper. “I don’t think I’ve ever been so happy.” At that, his whole body seemed to practically melt. He shifts, causing your grip to loosen.
His body leans downwards, practically scooping you up into his grip. Your arms move around his neck while your legs wrap themselves around his hips. “You have no idea how relieved I am to hear that.” The feeling of his warmth enveloping you causes small tears to stream down your face. It was an odd sensation, to cry from being so happy.
Small sniffles come from your nose, causing you to cover your face out of instinct. “I can’t believe this is actually happening.” Your voice shakes.
The boy looks over at you slightly, not moving his head, but just his eyes. “Hey, hey, hey.” His soft voice breathes into your ear. He looks over the room quickly, biting his lip under his mask softly. “You better be happy.”
“Extremely.” You smile, hugging him a little tighter.
You release your grasp on him, causing your feet to touch the ground once again. Shoji bends down a bit, wanting to see your face. You hide it from him, however, trying to shield your red face from his gaze. “Well, I’m glad. Surprised, but glad.”
“You’re surprised?” A laugh escapes you, now no longer bashful. “I was reading your letter, and it felt like my heart was going to stop, if I’m honest.” You admit.
“Wait,” he looks down at you with wide eyes, “did you have feelings for me the whole time?”
Thoughts filled your mind, causing a hot hue to wash over your face as your shoulders rise and fall in a lazy shrugging motion. “I’ve liked you for a few weeks.”
Mezo presses his first set of hands against your shoulders, his second pair reaching for the feminine set across from him. “I’ve never been so happy to hear something in my life.” The coolness of his voice is surprising. The boy’s eyes look into yours for a moment, seemingly in an attempt to find something, anything. He didn’t realize how much you had actually meant to him until you had just finalized your feelings for him as well.
“Well, this is officially the best birthday ever.” You state, giving his rough hands a light squeeze.
Pink dusts the boys face as he lets out a small chuckle. “Glad I could make today great.”
A smile spreads itself across your face as you turn, looking over at the completed dishes he had sitting on the counter. “Sorry I was no help with making lunch, I was just really excited to read all of the letters. Thank you so much.” You say to him, looking up as you grab your dish from the counter. He does the same, grabbing some silverware before following you into the living room. Just like he had done a while ago, he returned to the kitchen just to come back with a bowl of steamed vegetables. “Where do you even find those? I swear, I haven’t bought vegetables for myself in months.”
“Because I would always bring them over, remember? Along with (f/fruit) and milk.” His shoulder purposely nudges yours as he sits, trying to do so in teasing fashion.
Suddenly, as Shoji begins to do his thirty seconds of silence, a wave of guilt passes over you. During those three months where you were grief-struck, the boy had taken care of you more than you did yourself. Things were harder than they had ever been, and he was there through all of it. He bought your groceries and basic hygiene necessities. Better yet, he did it without being asked. Over that span, you were so disrespectful to him, but he didn’t care. No matter what you said to try and discourage him from constantly coming over, he wouldn’t listen.
“I owe you an apology.” You say once he starts getting ready to eat.
His head turns as a mouth forms on his left, replacing his middle tentacle. His voice comes from behind his mask, though. “For what?”
You adjust yourself and swallow hard. “When you were taking care of me when my mother passed, I was so mean. All you wanted to do is help me and make sure I was okay. All you wanted to was make sure I didn’t do anything stupid with myself.” The sound of your strong voice changes, now it’s weak and wavering. “I barely told you anything about how I was doing even though you would constantly ask. You kept coming back. No matter how mean I was to you, you kept coming back.” You quickly bring your hands to your face, covering your tear-filled eyes.
Shoji seemed to take note, three hands on his right reaching towards you; one reaches for your hands, one moves your hair out of your face, and the last one presses itself against your shoulder. He gives your hands a soft squeeze as the mouth on his left smiles at you. “If I’m honest, I was debating whether or not I should keep coming back or not. Sure, I wanted to take care of you, but I thought you thought of it as creepy or odd. I’m glad that you appreciated it, though.”
“Of course I appreciate it. You are such a great person.” A smile spreads across your face, tears still brimming your eyes.
“I’m glad you think so. You’re also a great person.” His hands leave your body as you wipe the tears out of your eyes. “Are we going to eat now?”
You nod, laughing to yourself softly. “Yeah. Do you want to watch something? I can turn on some YouTube or Netflix?”
“Sure, it doesn’t matter.” He says, genuinely. Your shoulders bounce as you nod, switching on the TV. Netflix was already loaded up, so you just browsed before picking some comical baking show called Nailed It.
The two of you sat in silence, occasionally laughing or smiling at the people on the television. The food he had made tastes fantastic, it normally does when he makes something. “Hey, I have a random question.” You say, taking another bite of your curry. He looks down at you with a confused look. “Where did you learn to cook?”
“Well,” He straightens his back as a mouth forms on his right, the side closest to you, “when I started at UA, I was a horrible cook. I wanted to learn how to do it once I met Sato. Him and I became closer through the weeks and ended up teaching me a lot about how to work in the kitchen.” Shoji states, feeding a mouth on his left. You only hum in reply, looking down at the food. “Why haven’t you learned how?”
The question surprised you. “What?”
“Why haven’t you learned how to cook? Surely it’d be a lot better than eating frozen pizza and takeout.” He says.
Thinking about for a moment, it was really a good question. “I guess I never found the time. My mother normally cooked for me, because I had to deal with school and a job. Now I have to deal with school, a job, and all the basic things like cleaning and taking care of myself. I guess I can barely find time to do that.” You laugh nervously, rubbing the back of your neck while giving the boy a small smile.
He only chuckles and goes back to his food. A calm then takes over the room, a comfortable silence taking over both of you. It was hard to believe that the two of you had just admitted your feelings for each other, so much so that you almost forgot about it.
“Hey, Mezo?” He looks over at you once again. “What does this make us?”
At that, he sputters a bit. “I guess I didn’t think about that.” Shoji admits as he presses his shoulder blades against the back of the beige sofa.
You do the same, never taking your eyes off of him. Your left hand raises, slowly making its way towards him. He watches it curiously, his eyes widening when your fingers intertwined with his. The size difference was almost comical, but it was cute. The feeling of his warm hands against your’s brought a smile to your face. “You wouldn’t mind it if we made it official?”
Once again, Shoji began to sputter slightly. Your face heats softly, though you give his hand a small squeeze. His thumb begins to rub against the side of your hand. “Actually, I’d love that.” From behind his mask, you can see his cheeks rise a little, giving you the idea that there is a smile behind the fabric. It takes a moment for his words to sink in, and really thinking about it causes your face to light up.
Your expression causes Shoji to chuckle a little bit. “You have absolutely no idea how much that means to me.” You say, wanting to tear up a little. The boy’s hand grips your’s a little harder, his rough grasp holding your delicate skin with a surprising softness. “I love you.” Excitement takes over before you can realize what you’ve said. The two of you make eye contact for a moment before you become a sputtering mess. “I’m sorry, I don’t know if that was too soon or if that was too sudden.” You say quickly while sitting up, though never releasing the boy’s hand.
Suddenly, your pulled into his grip. Your cheek presses against his chest as his posture straightens. “Never apologize for the truth.” The boy says softly, running a hand over your forehead as you look up at him. His face comes closer to yours, pressing his covered lips against the skin above your eyebrows. “I love you, too.”
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hey, sorry it took so long to get Shoji to admit his feelings, but it's okay now, bc now I can fuck EVERYTHING up-