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The cafe was packed that afternoon despite being well past the usual lunch rush. The weekend and the warm weather were like a magnet for the general public. There was only one empty table out front, both chairs lacking patronage.
“Table for one?”
“No, actually I just want a drink,” Gojo ordered his usual iced caramel breve with extra whip and caramel sauce. It was a busy day so it would probably take a while. “Can I wait over there for it?” He asked, pointing at the table outside the cafe.
“Actually that table is reserved. Oh, hold on. Looks like they are way past their time. Yeah, go right ahead.”
Poor suckers.
Gojo took his receipt and sat down in the sun at the vacant table. His phone would be plenty of company while he waited for his drink. He willed himself not to open social media. Every day was another post he really didn’t want to see of - well, it didn’t matter what. His emails were as depressing and boring as ever between PT meetings approaching and kids frantically trying to pass his class.
“Hello, I’m terribly sorry for the wait. I would have called but reception on the metro tends to cut out,” a disembodied voice said over the chatter of the late lunch crowd. Gojo wasn’t even paying that much attention. At least he wasn't until a large hand was extended right in front of his face.
Gojo looked up. The guy was hot. Not in a superficial jock or model hot, more in a CEO with a kinky side kinda hot. His entire forearm was exposed up to the elbow from the rolled-up sleeves of his button-up. The top two buttons of the top were open and flashed just the smallest hint of skin.
Gojo took the hand and shook it in his. It was as strong and warm as it looked, a little softer skin than Gojo had predicted. He didn’t mind that.
“I’m sorry I think-” Gojo tried to start but the other man’s deep voice cut him off.
“No, this is a bad first impression, I apologize. I’m usually not like this.”
He was nervous. He was clearly a little flustered and hadn’t yet let go of Gojo’s hand. Gojo didn’t let go either. “I’m Nanami. Nanami Kento. I’m glad you chose to wait.”
Gojo blinked stupidly behind his sunglasses.
“You should be more careful, Nanami. You almost lost the table,” Gojo replied. Nanami huffed a small laugh and dropped Gojo’s hand to run a hand through his blonde hair.
“Even more fortunate that you’re on time then,” Nanami pulled out his own chair across from Gojo and slung his suit jacket over the back. “This never gets easier. Any idea how we should start?”
“Not even in the slightest,” Gojo said easily. That must have been the right thing to say because the corner of Nanami’s mouth curved into a small smile. For just a half a second. How very interesting.
“I think we should start with an easy one. How long have you known Yaga?”
There was nothing that odd about that question except Gojo had never met anyone named Yaga, certainly not known one for any length of time and yet Nanami was still looking at him like it was as normal as asking the weather. The time had come to rain on his own hot guy parade. Gojo opened his mouth to speak when a phone started to ring. It wasn’t his.
“That’s me. In the rush I forgot to turn the damn thing off,” Nanami grumbled as he pulled his phone from his pocket. “Speak of the devil. Hello, Yaga. Yes, we, uh, we met. I’m with Ino now. We’ve barely introduced ourselves. I can’t answer that question. Alright, yes. No, I won’t. Goodbye.” Nanami clicked off the phone and set it face down on the table.
The barista from inside brought out Gojo’s drink and set it on the table. He thanked her before she turned to Nanami.
“Can I get you something?”
“An americano, please. No cream.”
“For here?”
The two men shared a glance. Gojo shrugged.
“For here, thank you.”
Gojo should say something. His name was not Ino and he had no clue who Yaga or Nanami were. His own phone started to ring. It was Shoko. They were supposed to meet later for dinner but hadn’t picked a place yet. Gojo debated picking up. “Don’t tell me that’s your emergency bail call,” Nanami winced slightly as he smiled.
“What?”
“You pick up, it’s your friend, they ask if you require a bailout, and then you can tell me you have an emergency and we never say more than our names to each other.”
Gojo stared at him, “You seem to know a lot about it.”
“Well, Ino, this isn’t exactly my first blind date from Yaga. If my watch is right then by this time,” Nanami looked at his wrist and the very nice watch that wrapped around it. “Mine should ring, now.”
While Gojo’s phone buzzed in his palm, Nanami’s phone on the table began to ring.
“Your own bail-out call?” Gojo guessed. Nanami nodded solemnly. He sighed and looked over Gojo’s face.
“I know I was late, but since you’ve already ordered, why don’t we give it a try until we are out of coffee? Then we won’t need our calls. We can just say we tried and it was a good cup of coffee. If I can recover from being the rudest date you’ve ever had in that time then maybe we can make other plans.”
Gojo glanced over Nanami’s shoulder. There was a young looking man at the counter inside talking to the barista and pointing at their table. He adjusted his beanie hat and pulled out his phone. Gojo looked down at his phone and then back to Nanami. The coffee was already here and it was a nice afternoon. One cup wouldn’t be the worst, not with such a good view.
“I think we should turn these off,” Gojo smiled and wiggled his phone. Nanami nodded and they both shut off their devices. Nanami hadn’t even checked his screen. Gojo would call Shoko back later and he didn’t want Yaga or whoever the hell ‘Ino’ was to call and expose the lie. It was just a cup of coffee and all he had to lie about was his name.
They had gotten through proper introductions by the time Nanami’s americano arrived. Apparently, Gojo was pretending to be Ino Takuma who was almost a decade younger than himself, and did something connected to computer science. That was about all Nanami seemed to know about his actual blind date. That made this easier on Gojo.
“And you are?” Gojo asked, sipping on his coffee. He was purposefully taking smaller drinks to make the time last.
“A branch manager for an investment firm. It’s a fancy way of saying I move people’s money around making the rich richer and horribly skewing the economy.”
“What a cynical interpretation of stocks,” Gojo mused. Nanami hummed in agreement. “Is it rude for me to ask why your own boss is setting you up on dates?”
“It is a little but I think I’m officially out of shame. He’s tired of paying my overtime.”
Gojo snorted, “What? So you need something to make your nine-to-five to end at five? No hobbies then, though I’m not shocked there. You don’t seem like a stamp collecting guy.”
“And what does a stamp guy look like?”
“Not like you, Nanami. Let me guess,” Gojo pursed his lips and leaned across the table to openly stare and examine Nanami’s face. “You were definitely a volunteer fireman and you make soaps. Grannie's recipe.”
“You are ridiculous. “
“That’s not a denial. I’m not gonna judge, I like soap. Bet it’s a hit at the local craft market.”
Nanami covered a laugh by shaking his head and licking over his front teeth as he smiled.
“I don’t make soap and I have never been a firefighter.”
“Now that is disappointing,” Gojo smiled. “Everyone loves a hero, especially one with broad shoulders.”
“Ah, yes. Mr. Stoke Broker to the rescue. There’s a weekly comic and everything.”
Gojo gasped and held a hand to his chest in shock. “He makes a joke! He can laugh! It took me an hour but we’ve done it, ladies and gentlemen!”
“Are you always this loud?” Nanami asked lightheartedly as he reached across the table and grabbed Gojo’s hands so he’d stop using them as a megaphone.
“Yes. Always. Especially my inside voice,” Gojo winked. Nanami scoffed and relaxed his grip around Gojo’s wrists. He let go but kept his hands near Gojo’s on the table.
They went back and forth for another hour. Gojo’s coffee was nothing more than melting ice mixed with the flavored syrup at the bottom of the cup. He couldn’t see into Nanami’s mug but he hadn’t taken a drink in a while.
“Now that we’ve established I’m a depressing workaholic who - how did you put it?”
“Workaholic on the fast track towards a midlife crisis at thirty,” Gojo repeated his own words from earlier in their conversation.
“Yes, that, thank you very much. Now I think it's only fair you tell me how you ended up at this table.”
Gojo almost choked on an ice cube he was crunching. He didn’t think he had messed up, how did Nanami figure out he wasn’t Ino.
“What?”
“Why are you taking blind dates from Yaga? Ino, I don’t think it’s a secret to say you don’t look like you need help getting dates.”
“I think you just told me I’m sexy, Nanami.”
Nanami rolled his eyes. Gojo’s fib and identity were safe. He hadn’t said or done anything to suggest he was anyone other than Ino. Gojo considered lying, how would ‘Ino’ answer that, but there was no need to. Not giving his real name made it a little easier actually.
“Uh, well. This is actually my first date in, shit, well a while,” Gojo twirled his empty cup by the lid in one hand. Nanami moved his eyebrows, a silent sign of curiosity but didn’t directly ask for elaboration. “You were late so I’ll take the other first date no-no. I got out of a very long-term thing a while ago. It was messy and I haven’t, I haven’t wanted to go out. Yaga and this blind date are the result of being in the right place at the right time.”
All of that was the truth, every word. He had even been considering canceling on Shoko for dinner for the third time that month before Nanami sat down. Gojo tried to gauge Nanami’s reaction. Nanami barely blinked.
“Yaga has a talent for seeing exactly what people need, even if out of their comfort zone,” Nanami coughed a little and stared down into his empty coffee cup. “That’s what he’s trying to do for me. I was engaged but I was never around, never present enough. I worked too much and I still do.”
“Wow, you put a ring on it? So very adult of you,” Gojo was only half-joking. He didn’t enjoy the tired look on Nanami's face. It made his intelligent eyes dull and darker.
“That’s all it became. A relationship in title and material object only. In other words, useless shit.” Gojo whistled at the expletive but in his mind, he was condemning the stupid soul who had failed to reach out to a man like Nanami. “I’m glad you were in that right time and place, Ino. Without you, I’d have never found such an excellent americano.”
“Oi, don’t steal my coffee shop!” Deflecting with humor was easy. Getting back into banter with Nanami was easy. Pretending to be someone else was getting harder.
“It’s a good thing this date is going well or it’d be awkward when we run into each other at rush hour,” Nanami said and relaxed back into his chair. They were both entirely out of coffee and most of the tables around them had been cleared.
“Since it is going well, let’s make more plans,” Gojo didn’t want to be Ino. He wanted to hear his name in Nanami’s heavy voice, wanted to be the one on this date, but he also didn’t want it to end.
“Alright,” Nanami smirked a little. “When are you next available?”
“Hmm. Let me check my horribly busy schedule,” Gojo pursed his lips and pretended to be thinking hard. “I’m free right now. I mean, I'm on a date with this guy at a coffee shop, but it’s kinda running its course. He’s a workaholic and drinks coffee blacker than his soul,” Gojo joked.
“Funny.”
“I am, aren't I? C’mon salary man, I know a place that treats workaholics,” Gojo smiled and let his sunglasses slide down his nose. The afternoon sun was still bright and high. Nanami stared for a moment before standing and grabbing his jacket from off the back of the chair.
They shared a cab, talking and brushing shoulders as they made their way to the next destination. When Nanami stepped out of the vehicle he stopped and stared up at the tall building. He scoffed and didn’t follow Gojo towards the entrance.
“You’re joking,” Nanami huffed.
“I am not. I’ll have you know I am a very serious person,” Gojo smiled wide and flopped his head to the side.
“We are too old for this. I am too old for this.”
“Nanami, the day I am too old for this will be the day I am lowered into the ground and I happen to have a healthy family history. Besides, you aren’t actually old yet. What is it? Scared I’ll destroy you at skeeball? I won’t go easy on you just because you’re handsome.”
“Who asked you to go easy on me?”
Gojo chuckled as he grabbed onto Nanami’s wrist and tugged the hesitant man into the arcade. The fun zone center was massive and the floor was covered in the ugliest pattern carpet Nanami had ever seen.
The music was loud and obnoxious but Gojo’s white-blonde hair seemed to catch the light of the gaming screens and when he put away his sunglasses to reveal his blue eyes fully Nanami became more willing to be led by him.
Nanami was dragged and pulled to so many arcade games that he couldn’t remember which one they even started with. Gojo won them all including skeeball except a racing game. Gojo couldn’t drive, even virtually.
Gojo did so well, even on games he had never tried before, that the machines would spit out piles of winning tickets. They would pile onto the floor in small coils but Gojo never picked them up. He would pull Nanami to the next thing before he could grab them for Gojo.
“Why do you leave your tickets?”
“Hmm? Oh, because I don’t want them.”
Nanami raised an eyebrow. Gojo got close to Nanami, standing with their chests almost grazing.
“I don’t want any of those cheap prizes behind the counter. Let someone who does have them. I’m already getting what I want.”
“You seem to be in the habit of getting exactly that,” Nanami replied, never making a move to step away from Gojo.
“Yes and now I want to beat you at one last thing.” Gojo grabbed hold of Nanami’s wrist again but before he could tug on it Nanami readjusted their hands so they slotted together. Nanami huffed but walked side by side with Gojo up to the laser tag counter. Nanami was definitely overdressed but he had already resigned himself to the discomfort and slight embarrassment of giving into Gojo.
In order to protect them from any risk, Gojo and Nanami both put their still turned off cell phones into Nanami’s coat pocket and which was kept for them behind the counter. They helped each other put on their chest plates while Gojo laughed at Nanami’s unfamiliarity with the situation.
Even the largest-sized gear looked tiny on their broad chests. They were certainly the oldest ones there but there were considerably more young adults and teens playing than Nanami had expected.
“What is that face for?” Gojo asked as his fingers worked the clasp around Nanami’s side.
“If you ever tell Yaga we did this, I will kill you.”
“Nanami, I promise, from the bottom of my heart, that I will absolutely tell Yaga. I’ll make sure it goes out as a Monday morning memo.”
“You are awful.”
“And you are having fun. Nanami Kento is playing and having fun on his weekend,” Gojo retorted easily. Ino may or may not be awful like him but Gojo was the one drawing out Nanami. Not him.
Nanami clipped the last snap on Gojo’s gear but then just let his hand idle on Gojo’s waist. His hand was warm and heavy. A small twinge of guilt ran through Gojo. He was enjoying himself too much, he couldn’t ignore how much he liked Nanami. Nanami wasn’t supposed to be his date to enjoy. Gojo wondered if, whoever he was, Ino would be enjoying Nanami’s hands on him like Gojo was.
The criminally underpaid teenager working as the laser tag moderator interrupted them and the rest of the players. She explained the game and the rules and set them loose on a free-for-all. Just before they parted ways Nanami put a hand against the small of Gojo’s back.
“Watch yourself, Ino,” Nanami whispered into Gojo’s ear in his dark voice. Gojo shivered when Nanami separated from him and moved into the dark, blacklight play area. They hunted each other and the other players and Gojo couldn’t repress his wicked wide smile.
They somehow managed to evade each other for most of the game. Gojo hadn’t been hit but hadn’t run into many players total. Throughout the time he had heard almost constant shouts and yelling from the other players and had seen many people running past him. The five-minute warning bell almost gave him a heart attack. He peaked around a corner but saw nothing.
Something pressed into his back.
“Move and I’ll shoot you,” a familiar gravel voice spoke quietly.
“A gentleman should never shoot his date,” Gojo smiled in the darkness.
“You’d shoot me in a second.”
“That’s because I’m not a gentleman like you Nanami,” Gojo flirted and pretended to hold up his hands. The fake gun pulled away slightly and Gojo seized his moment and spun in an attempt to push away Nanami’s weapon.
They wrestled with each other, bodies extremely close and their faces illuminated by the blue glow of their gear. They went down to the ground together and rolled. It was a close struggle but Nanami ended up on top, blonde bangs hanging across his brow and gun pressed to Gojo’s chest plate.
“Are you really gonna shoot me when we are finally at the good part?” Gojo joked breathlessly, referencing the way Nanami was straddling his hips to keep him pinned down.
Nanami licked over his own bottom lip and pulled the trigger. The silly sound effect blared out and Gojo’s chest plate lights turned red and flashed. Gojo flopped his arms to the ground and started to laugh.
Out of nowhere some pre-teen yelled “Finally got you!” and shot Nanami. His own chest glowed red and he slumped his shoulders in defeat. Gojo grabbed his arm and pulled until Nanami laid down on the ground next to him with a small thud.
“C’mon. Be slain with me.”
“This floor is disgusting,” Nanami complained but didn’t get up. They laid there and panted out breaths, listening to the sounds of the other players. “This is the strangest first date I’ve ever had,” Nanami confessed.
“Oi, it’s actually our second date and that’s a good thing. It means you won’t be able to forget it.”
“No, Ino I don’t think I could forget you.”
Gojo rolled his head to meet Nanami’s eyes. They were both still breathing hard and Nanami’s shoulder burned hot against Gojo’s. Every time Nanami called Gojo by his false name it broke the spell. It reminded him that he would have to tell Nanami he wasn’t really Ino.
“Nanami, you are -”
There was a loud tone that signaled the end of the game. An exit sign and several arrows pointed towards the doorway. The low lighting of the play area glowed slightly brighter. Nanami sat up and helped pull Gojo to his feet.
“Would you go on a third date with me? I know a place we could get a drink not far from here.” Nanami’s hair that had been so perfectly styled was completely disheveled and his button-up wrinkled. Gojo shouldn’t go with him.
Nanami’s hand squeezed lightly around Gojo’s forearm. “A drink? Yes, let’s. Becareful Nanami, you know what they say about third dates.”
“I thought we established that I have been out of the loop for a while. Tell me, what happens after the third date,” Nanami flirted. He was flirting in his stupid laser tag gear after laying on the dirty ground. Gojo smirked and leaned in to speak into Nanami’s ear but the call of a loudspeaker asking them to leave for the next game cut him off.
They quickly removed the cheap gear and returned it before making their way out of the arcade and back out onto the street. It was late afternoon and the sun was intense as it was beginning its descent toward the horizon.
They left the arcade without realizing the worker behind the laser tag counter had changed shifts. They left without Nanami’s jacket and the phones inside it.
They walked and talked blissfully unaware, too caught up in each other and their banter to notice. Gojo was plagued by the low rumble of guilt. It was no longer harmless flirting or a cup of coffee. It had been hours and Nanami was good. Truly good. He would tell Nanami over that drink. That would soften it, right?
They were walking up to the bar, Gojo could see the small congregation of patrons through the large windows. He made a joke and Nanami chuckled. Gojo made the mistake of looking, Nanami was incredibly handsome when he allowed himself to smile and it was extremely satisfying to be the one to pull out such a reaction.
Gojo stopped walking.
“Are you alright, Ino?”
No, he was not. He was not Ino and he was not alright.
“Nanami, I actually need to tell you something,” Gojo put his hands into his pockets and rolled his shoulders.
“That’s not a great thing to hear on a first, no wait, third date.”
“Then you’re really not gonna like it when I tell you it’s more of a confession.”
Nanami’s brow pinched and he acquired a more serious expression. The tension was obvious around his mouth. Maybe Nanami wouldn’t care. Maybe he would chalk it up to Gojo being his awful, theatrical, crazy self.
“I lied earlier. About our date,” Gojo started, fuck this was hard. Nanami was perfect. Had been perfect all afternoon. Gojo had stolen that away for himself. Gojo was awful. He was awful enough to do it for as long as possible. He sighed, exasperated. “I don’t want to get a drink. I hate alcohol. Beer is putrid and wine is best pre-fermentation. Liquor burns and why anyone consumes vodka is beyond me,” he rambled in a desperate, if true, explanation. He couldn’t tell Nanami and he didn’t want to.
This was better. They would part as each other's great first dates and never see each other again. Nanami didn’t even have Gojo’s phone number or real name. Nanami would find out the truth from Ino or Yaga and he would think Gojo was just some crazy stranger. They might even think about each other now and then.
“You lied about having a drink?” Nanami rolled his eyes and took another step closer to Gojo and away from the bar’s front door. Nanami shook his head and chuckled. He ran a hand through his hair and did his little half-smile.
“What are you laughing about?”
“You’re so … you.”
Gojo frowned as Nanami smiled. He turned on his heel and started to walk. He walked past the front doors of the bar and further down the sidewalk. “Are you coming or did I injure your legs at laser tag?”
Gojo caught up easily with three long strides. It was natural to fall into step with Nanami. Nanami’s face was as sharp and serious-looking as ever but Gojo was already starting to notice the softness at the sides of his eyes.
They stopped walking a few minutes later and Nanami held open a door for him.
“Oh, lucky me,” Gojo teased as he went through the doorway. He stepped into a very nice ice cream parlor. Gojo curled over the counter to inspect the flavors. “This is much, much better than a drink.”
Nanami hummed but didn’t inspect as intensely as Gojo. They got their ice creams and Nanami went for the door again rather than one of the tables inside. Gojo followed Nanami one step behind him until they found themselves on a bench in a nearby park
The park wasn't crowded but there were enough couples and families to people-watch. The air was cool with the crisp smell of cut grass and the sun was beginning to dip below the tree line. They ate ice cream off the tiny wooden spoons they had been provided and evaluated people based on how much they looked like their dogs.
Nanami learned that Gojo didn’t like dog people. Too happy to be trusted apparently. Nanami confessed to having a singular, dying, houseplant. They discussed such wonderfully senseless things as if they carried great meaning despite their irreverent nature.
They heard a young boy call out to his mother to watch him do something that probably was quite impressive for his age but when they turned to watch too they saw him take two big steps before tripping and falling right on his face in the playground wood chips. He laid there lifeless on the ground for a moment before sitting up and bursting into tears.
Nanami started to laugh. At first, it was a low sputtering but when he couldn’t stop he put a fist up to his mouth and looked at the sky trying to stifle his amusement. Gojo started to laugh as he watched Nanami.
“Nanami! Are you laughing at the kid who fell? And you had the audacity to call me awful! You are the awful one,” Gojo continued to laugh and tugged at Nanami’s fist so he could see his face.
With Gojo laughing too, Nanami wasn’t holding back very well. He bumped shoulders with Gojo and turned his face to the side. They laughed into each other's faces for a moment but as they caught their breath they both became aware of how close their faces were. How close their bodies were on the bench and how the other’s mouth was only a short distance from their own.
The laughter dissolved into gentle breathing and Nanami's eyes shifted between Gojo’s eyes and lips. Gojo held Nanami’s wrist limply in his hand and his eyelids went heavy in expectation. He let them close when their noses grazed and he could feel Nanami’s breath on his lips.
“YOOOOOO GOJO SENSEEEII,” a loud voice called out and was getting louder as it shouted his real name. Nanami and Gojo both looked up, breaking the spell of tension between their lips.
They saw two teenage boys on bikes, one of which was furiously pedaling towards them. Gojo immediately recognized Yuuji from his homeroom class. It didn’t matter that Gojo didn’t recognize the other boy as a student, this was a disaster.
Gojo stood up from the bench and Nanami began to ask him what was wrong but Gojo was already panicking, racking his brain for what to do that wouldn’t be horrifically obvious. His brain couldn’t find an answer.
Yuuji and his bike came to a screeching halt right in front of Gojo and Nanami’s bench. Nanami stood as well. The other boy and his bike were still pedaling at a slower pace further down the path.
“Good evening Gojo Sensei! I just saw you and I was like ‘Oh my god Junpei, that’s my crazy teacher’ and I had to come say hi! I’m so glad it was you and not someone who looks like you and - and why are you looking at me like that? Is there something on my face?”
Yuuji started to wipe at his mouth and cheeks with his hand in an attempt to get the nonexistent smudges off it. Gojo’s tongue had never felt so fat in his own mouth before and his stomach felt like he was full of tv static. There was no way out of it, he had been exposed as a fraud by one of his own students. This had been inevitable, he should have told Nanami at the bar. No, even before that at the cafe.
“Excuse me, who are you?” Nanami asked in a voice laced in confusion.
“Itadori Yuuji! I’m Gojo sensei's favorite worst student! nice to meet you,” Yuuji’s kind voice was grating Gojo's ears. It was agony to hear his own name used so honestly in front of Nanami.
Nanami only said the customary, polite greetings back to Yuuji but Gojo could practically hear the questions and confusion cycling through his brain.
When Yuuji’s friend, Junpei, caught up he introduced him to Gojo and vice versa, once again stating Gojo’s name and job for Nanami to hear. Gojo didn’t deny it, he couldn’t. It was his name and his student and it was the truth.
The boys quickly pedaled on and further into the park leaving Gojo and Nanami standing by the park bench and their empty ice cream cups.
“Ino, who was that and why did he seem to think you were his school teacher?”
Gojo could still deny it all. Say Yuuji was mistaken or crazy. Nanami seemed to want to believe it as much as Gojo wanted to say it. He couldn’t.
The universe had thrust the opportunity to come clean into his lap and to ignore that would be cruel.
“That was Yuuji and he is in my homeroom and pre-honors physics course.”
“He called you Gojo,” Nanami’s voice was hard and serious. Nothing like the laughter and dry sarcasm that had filled their afternoon. Gojo sighed and rubbed one big hand over his face. This was brutal.
“That would be because my name is Gojo Satoru, I’m twenty-eight, and I’m a high school teacher,” Gojo said with a steady voice that surprised himself.
“So who is Ino Takuma if you’re not him?”
“I don’t know an Ino Takuma and I don’t know Yaga. I was waiting for my coffee at the cafe when you sat down. We started to talk and I played along but I-”
“ ‘Played along’? You just played along? What the hell is wrong with you?” Nanami snapped low and coldly. He took a step back from Gojo.
“What’s wrong with me? What about you! You just assumed I was this other guy and you even flirted with me!”
“And you just flirted back like it was a normal thing to do?”
“You didn’t seem to mind at the time!”
“Because I thought you were my date!”
They stared at each other, frustrated and conflicted. Heavy breaths filling the tense air between them. “You lied to me.”
Nanami hardened his mouth into a thin line and his eyes went dark. He turned away from Gojo and started to walk away, back the way they had come. Gojo felt like shit but that wasn’t true. Not really. He followed Nanami.
“Bullshit, I never lied. I never once said I was Ino Tak-whoever the hell,” Gojo waved his hand in the air dismissing the mystery man. Ino hadn’t been on this date. Gojo had.
“You never stopped me! You never denied it. You let me believe you were someone else all afternoon. I know you said I was awful but you’re something else altogether. Was anything about today real?”
“Are you serious?” Gojo grabbed Nanami’s arm and he pulled it free before spinning around to look Gojo in the eye.
“Of course I’m serious. Unlike you. Everything is a big fucking joke to you, isn’t it? Including me and my life. Did you have fun Gojo - or Satoru or whoever you actually are - did you have fun dragging me around for hours and laughing at me?”
Nanami kept walking.
“I wasn’t laughing at you. Nanami, please, I’m sorry. That’s not what happened.”
“Right time, right place. That was a great line. Do you use it often?”
“What?”
“You even threw a sob story at me. You really got me there, I actually fell for that shit.”
“Oi, don’t. That wasn’t shit. I’m not heartless.”
“No? What kind of sociopath steals someone else’s date? Not even that, you were never planning on telling me who you are, were you?” Nanami halted at the edge of the park. The ice cream parlor was within view on the next block. The sun was officially close enough to the horizon to turn on the outdoor lighting.
Nanami stared at Gojo, searching his face for honesty and answers.
“I wanted to,” Gojo said carefully.
“That doesn’t mean you were going to. See Gojo, it doesn’t matter what your name is, it was still a waste of my time because I-” Nanami choked on the next word and ran a frustrated hand through his hair. “I wanted to see you again. I actually thought for a second that you might want to - that we could - but today was all it was ever going to be. Because you’re a liar and you were never going to see me again.”
“Oh right, because you would want to see me again after I told you, right? That’s some righteous bullshit. I knew the second I told you you’d do exactly what you’re doing. Walk away. Can you honestly say you would have actually spent the day with me instead of some stranger you were supposed to meet?”
Nanami was aggressively hitting the crosswalk button. His shoulders were drawn uptight and was refusing to look at Gojo.
“Would you? Would you have done all the things I did today knowing it was the wrong person? Why did you even take me to that arcade? Why not leave after the coffee when you knew I wasn’t supposed to be with you?”
“That’s exactly your fucking problem. What you are supposed to do. It’s like pulling teeth making you confess to having fun, enjoying yourself. That’s what I was doing. Don’t act like you were miserable with me.”
“That’s not the point! I was supposed to be with someone else! They were waiting for me and I went with you because you lied to me about who you were.”
They crossed the street together. Maybe Gojo should just let Nanami walk away but he couldn’t stand the idea of Nanami walking away from this thinking none of it was real. Maybe it was Gojo’s foolish belief that Nanami could be convinced to forgive him.
Gojo walked faster and got in front of Nanami. He blocked the sidewalk in front of a restaurant next to the parlor. The chatter from the dinner crowd on the patio was barely audible to Gojo.
“Get out of my way.”
“Why? So you can go find Ino? Sorry, I don't think he’s still at the cafe.”
That struck a chord in Nanami. He straightened and his eyes widened a little. “Ino. Shit. You made me stand him up.” Nanami reached into his back pocket and his face became panicked. He checked all four of his trouser pockets.
“What? What are you doing?”
“Do you have your phone?” Nanami asked seriously.
“No, you have it in your jacket.”
As soon as the words left Gojo’s mouth he realized the problem. There was no jacket. Nanami had left it at the arcade counter. Nanami pinched the bridge of his nose and breathed deeply. They’d be stuck together until they could get their phones back.
“C’mon. We’ll take a cab. It’ll be faster than walking to the nearest subway or the bus,” Gojo walked up to the hostess and her small booth at the entrance of the restaurant with Nanami an arm's length away.
“Table for two?” She smiled politely at them.
“No thank you. Could you call us a cab?” Gojo gave his best friendly smile and tried not to show how tense they both were.
“Yes, of course, Sir. Shouldn’t take too long.”
Gojo tried to step back into Nanami’s space. They weren’t done talking and Gojo wanted to use the phones as a reset to change the course of the conversation. He barely got a few centimeters closer to Nanami when a familiar voice turned his blood to ice.
“Satoru? Is that you?”
The best afternoon Gojo had had in over a year was dissolving into an evening from hell. It only made sense he’d run into Satan on his way.
Nanami scrunched his eyebrows at Gojo’s expression. It looked like he was looking down the barrel of a gun rather than hearing a voice from over his shoulder. Gojo turned his head slowly to look at the source of the voice.
Geto was sitting at one of the tables nearest the hostess booth. He wasn’t eating yet but he did have a glass of red wine in front of himself. Gojo tried not to, he really tried not to look but he did. He met Mahito’s smiling eyes as he sat opposite Geto, martini in hand.
“I thought that was you, Gojo. Didn’t I tell you, Geto? That hair color has always been so unique, and so tall. It couldn’t have been anyone else,” Mahito said and wiggled his fingers at Gojo in greeting. He cocked his head and looked past Gojo to Nanami. “And who is that? He looks new.”
Nanami glanced at Gojo who was still staring at Mahito before introducing himself to the two men at the table. Geto just gave his name and firm shake. Mahito took Nanami's hand and smiled like they were all close friends but both Geto and Gojo were unreadable and stiff.
“I’m Mahito, Gojo and I used to be neighbors.” Nanami nodded and let go of Mahito who squeezed Nanami’s hand before they separated.
“Used to be?” Gojo asked. “You moved in?”
“It just made the most sense, especially with how you left Geto hanging on rent.”
“Mahito,” Geto cut off his dinner date. It didn’t work.
“How is your new place, Gojo? Is it near the school? That would be nicer than where you were with Geto, it always took so long for you to come home.”
Mahito’s smile was vile. As was his entire being. He made Nanami’s skin crawl.
Gojo sneered and his eyes were filled with hatred. Nanami stepped the extra half step closer and put his arm around Gojo’s waist and pulled them together until their hips knocked together. Gojo snapped his head to the side to look at Nanami.
“It’s sadly not very close. You leave so early in the mornings, how far is it again from our place? The nearest metro stop is on Harvey Way, right?” Nanami lied. That was in fact the stop nearest his own apartment.
Mahito’s eyebrows shot up and Geto clenched his jaw. Harvey Way was the street that ran connected residential to the business district. It was a more expensive and well-to-do place to live.
“I think less than a half-hour on good days,” Gojo said slowly. Nanami tapped Gojo’s with his own where the others couldn’t see. He hoped it conveyed the message. Play along.
“We should find someplace more practical and just drop your flat. We never stay there anymore anyways.”
Gojo nodded and his eyes finally had that clever glint back in them.
“Are you two living together?” Geto asked suddenly. “I didn’t know you were seeing anyone.”
“Well, that’s likely because it’s not your business and we don’t need to post pictures of each other naked every time we have sex to prove we are having it,” Gojo said through a tense smile. Nanami resisted the urge to look at Mahito’s reaction. Nanami kept his expression stable and his voice consistent.
“What do you think, Nanami, should we try it?”
“There isn’t enough storage on my phone to do that for even a month,” Nanami deadpanned and Gojo laughed again. Mahito was chewing the inside of his cheek and Geto was staring intensely as Gojo reached up to put his fingers around the back of Nanami’s head and card through his undercut.
“Don’t forget Harvey-Way, every honeymoon period ends, I hope you enjoy yours to the fullest,” Mahito spoke to Nanami in a sour tone as he tapped his empty olive toothpick at the lip of his glass.
“Are you talking from experience? I don’t personally believe in that but we plan to enjoy ourselves regardless,” Nanami responded easily. Mahito smiled but was obviously planning Nanami’s murder with his eyes.
The hostess got Nanami’s attention and pointed at a taxi pulling up at the curb.
“You look good, Satoru. You haven’t called and, uh, it’d be nice to catch up. Would you two like to join us for dinner?” Geto gestured to the two empty seats at the table. Mahito kicked Geto under the table. Nanami repressed a snicker when he felt Gojo tense under his hand again and the fingers stopped tracing the neckline of his shirt.
“As much as I don’t want to do that, we have food waiting to be picked up. We are just waiting on a cab,” Gojo was still rigid but he still leaned his head down to Nanami when he started to whisper in his ear. “And the wait is over.”
“It’s good to put faces to names. Enjoy your meal,” Nanami nodded to the other couple and allowed himself to be led away to the taxi with his fingers intertwined with Gojo’s. Once they were both in and the car was moving they detached their hands and scooted apart.
“The part about a messy breakup was true then,” Nanami thought aloud. Gojo sighed and rubbed his hand over his face. “So you all lived in the same building?”
“Same floor,” Gojo replied with a dejected tone.
“And they were?”
“Yep.”
“While you and Geto were still together.”
“Yeah.”
“How long.”
“I’m not sure. Months.”
“What a dick.”
Gojo snorted once. The rest of the ride was completed in silence. It was not as uncomfortable as it probably should have been. Nanami kept stealing small glances at Gojo as headlights pushed shadows over his smooth features. He couldn’t hate Gojo as much as he thought he did back in the park. That would be easier if he could.
When they arrived at the arcade Gojo held the taxi while Nanami ran inside. When he returned with their phones they both found their screens loaded with missed calls and texts. Gojo’s were entirely from Shoko whose messaged escalated to complaints about food options to actual worry for Gojo’s whereabouts and well-being.
Nanami’s were all from Yaga and Ino.
“It’s probably not great to stand up the date your boss set up for you, is it?” Gojo smiled weakly. Nanami bit his upper lip as he read through the texts.
“No, but I think he will forgive me when I tell him some maniac with white hair hijacked my date,” Nanami’s eyes softened and they both chuckled a little. As much as they could.
Gojo looked up at the building. He had been ready to tell Nanami the truth so many times and not doing so had only made things worse in the end. He could spare some extra honesty now, maybe it could change things, even if it only changes how Nanami remembers their afternoon that’d be good enough.
Nanami’s phone rang.
“It’s him.”
“Ino?” The real one.
Nanami picked up the phone. Gojo tried to gauge Nanami’s expressions and words. There were many apologies and I’m-not-sure-you’d-believe-me-if-I-told-yous. Part of Gojo desperately wanted to know what Ino was saying, to hear his voice but more than that he wished the man on the other side of the phone didn’t exist.
“No, I haven’t eaten. Where is that? I could be there in,” Nanami looked at his watch. “ in about fifteen minutes. Okay. Right. Bye.” Nanami ended his call and made eye contact with Gojo.
“You’re meeting him for dinner,” Gojo repeated the obvious.
“Yes, I have to. To apologize if nothing else.”
“Will there be something else?”
“That’s why you go on dates, right? To see if there is something else.”
Gojo nodded. The date was over. Nanami had ended it right there, the date that shouldn’t have ever even happened. Gojo opened the taxi door for Nanami. When he was seated, Gojo bent down so they could talk quietly.
“Goodbye Gojo.”
“Bye. Nanami before you go you should know. The only lie was my name. I hope you have fun with him.”
Gojo closed the door of the taxi and turned away before it could peel away from the curb. He pulled out his phone and dialed the top of his recent call list.
“Hi. Yes, I’m alive. Yeah, I’m fine. Can you get take out and come over to my place? Because I’m an idiot, an absolute fucking moron that’s why.”
Nanami watched him walk down the sidewalk from inside the taxi. He was on his phone and didn’t turn back. When the driver asked for the address of the restaurant for the third time Nanami finally looked away from Gojo’s shrinking form.
He wasn’t late for his dinner date with Ino. Nanami apologized repeatedly for everything that had happened but inside he found he didn’t actually feel as bad as he thought he should.
It had truly been poor, or perfect timing, that Gojo had been at their pre-arranged table at the cafe. Ino had been on time but had just stepped away to use the bathroom when Gojo and Nanami had sat down. Ino assumed neither man was Nanami and that he had been stood up.
Ino was nice but Nanami’s thoughts always drifted back to Gojo. What things would make him smirk and what nonsensical or witty comeback would he have. Nanami was sure Ino was pleasant but he did nothing that pried Nanami’s thoughts from his previous date.
“I was actually shocked to get your text tonight. I really thought you had bailed on me,” Ino said after a sip from his water glass.
“Again, I’m sorry. I had turned off my phone to be courteous to my date,” Nanami sighed, still embarrassed.
“The guy who said he was me?”
“Yes, as absurd as that is.”
“What a nutjob, what was he even like?”
“He was... “ Nanami had no idea how to explain who Gojo was. How he was.
Nanami was rude, so awful and rude. He retold the whole afternoon with Gojo to Ino. All of Gojo’s odd mannerisms and witty comments. As if being late and standing someone else up wasn’t rude enough he was only talking about Gojo and the unbelievable and great afternoon they had.
Ino took it all in, laughing and making small comments but when Nanami finished he couldn’t help the sad smile resting on his lips. It matched Nanami’s.
“Can I tell you what I think?” Ino sat back in his chair and fiddled with his own fingers.
“Of course.”
“I think that is, by all definitions, a successful blind date. You didn’t know each other beforehand, you hit it off and you had fun.” Ino counted the components on his fingers as he spoke. “Do you want to go out with him again?”
Shoko and Gojo were sitting in their sweatpants on Gojo’s living room floor with an empty pizza box between their laps. Gojo had managed to recount the entire afternoon plus a rant about what shits Mahito and Geto had been in the time they ate.
“So let me get this straight,” she spoke around her last mouthful of pizza. “You didn’t tell him you weren’t Ino because you were content to just part ways but now that that’s what happened, you’re sad.”
“I feel like I said it better than that but yes,” Gojo said without looking up, he was too busy putting just the right amount of honey on his pizza crust.
“Can you look him up?”
“Why? Even if I did, he doesn’t want to see me again. Besides, I was a great mature adult, I even wished him luck on his next date.”
Gojo’s intercom in his apartment buzzed. It was probably his neighbor who locked himself out again. Gojo stood off the floor. It buzzed again.
“You were right, you are a moron.”
“Oi! You’re supposed to be consoling me,” Gojo pouted and licked his sticky fingers. The intercom buzzed again. “Jeez, I’m coming.” Gojo hit the small button on his buzzer. “Ijichi you gotta get a spare key, you’re driving me nuts.”
“I’m not Ijichi.” The voice was laced in the static of the buzzer but the voice was unmistakable.
“Nanami?”
Shoko and Gojo made immediate eye contact. Shoko stood so quickly that a strand of her hair fell from her messy bun. She reached past Gojo and pressed the button to let Nanami into the building downstairs.
“What the fuck did you do that for?”
“I couldn’t leave an idiot like you to make the wrong choice. Again.” Shoko quickly put on her shoes and stole one of Gojo’s coats. “He put up with you for an entire afternoon even after seeing your lousy personality.”
“Maybe I actually have a great personality and you have poor taste,” Gojo gawked at her in faux offense. She rolled her eyes
“Then Nanami and I already have something in common.” Shoko gave Gojo a concerned once over before swinging open the door. She and Nanami blinked at one another. He was holding up a fist in preparation to knock.
Shoko greeted Nanami briefly before taking off the hall, leaving the two men alone together. Gojo closed his apartment door and leaned against it once Nanami was inside.
“How did you find my address?”
“Well, I learned some very interesting things about the real Ino Takuma. One is that he is a hopeless romantic who believes in the power of serendipity. Another is that he doesn’t study computer science but is a forensic analyst and can get a photocopy of your ID and address just from your name. By the way, you have an unpaid parking ticket from four years ago that you should probably take care of,” Nanami spoke as he looked just about everywhere except Gojo.
“Are you joking right now?”
“No, I’m serious but I’m not totally certain on the statute of limitations on that.” Nanami gave a nervous smile. He wore a similar expression to when Gojo had first met him at the cafe. This time Nanami didn’t sit down. He couldn’t, too full of anxious energy.
“Nanami, I don’t understand what you’re doing here.”
“Did you mean it? What you said outside the car. Be honest with me, Gojo. Was the only lie your name?”
Gojo pushed off the door and stepped into the room, another step closer to Nanami. “Yes. I only lied about my name.”
Nanami seemed to relax slightly, his expression was just as serious but not nearly as hard.
“Gojo, you are the strangest person I have ever met. You are awful and absurd and I can’t begin to imagine what it’s like inside your head.”
“That was flattering. Thanks for coming all this way to say such nice things,” Gojo said.
“Don’t interrupt me right now. Please. We are awful. I’m an awful first date and an awful partner. I don’t know when to have fun or let go or be selfish. I had the most surreal afternoon with a complete stranger doing all those things I don’t know how to do and that I could have never imagined enjoying but I did.”
Nanami licked over his lips and cursed. Gojo was still frozen to the spot, blue eyes fixed on Nanami.
“I don’t want you to be anyone else and I want to know you in all your awful, absurdity. Gojo, blind dates are shit and I’m tired of spending my time with boring strangers and work, both of which are also shit. Today was never boring and it was never work and even when I had no idea who you were you weren’t a stranger to me. I know I’m late again but I’m hoping I’m in the right place at the right time to ask you, Gojo, on a fourth date.”
Nanami finished his little speech with a huff. Gojo freed his hands from his pockets and in two large strides, they were cupping Nanami’s face as they kissed. Nanami grabbed Gojo by the waist and tilted his mouth up and into the touch.
They broke apart to take heavy breaths. Gojo smiled and leaned his forehead against Nanami’s.
“That’s a great line. Do you use it often?” Gojo smirked against Nanami’s mouth. Nanami shoved him half-heartedly in the chest before kissing Gojo again.