Chapter Text
How’d you end up here again?
Flashing lights blinding you, music booming through the building, sweaty bodies pressed up against you, and an incredibly beautiful man watching you from afar.
This is not what you imagined yourself doing in college. Partying is a given. At the fanciest club in the city? Definitely not, you’re broke enough as it is. With an uber rich man you found on a sugar baby app? Never in a million years.
It wasn’t even supposed to get this far. You’re just broke.
———
“I need money and fast .”
Your car had broken down yet again and your tuition was due in a few weeks. There was no way you could scrounge together enough without being slapped with a huge late fee — something you couldn’t pay if you couldn’t pay your full tuition in the first place.
Nobara stared at you blankly. “I can give you the money, (Y/N).”
You shook your head vigorously. Truth be told, you wanted to take the money from your disgustingly rich roommate. Shopping every other day sounded like a dream, really, but you couldn’t at the price of your pride or your friendship with her.
“Stop offering me that, you know I’m not taking it. Thank you anyways.” She sighed and went back to scrolling through her phone. “I’ve applied everywhere, too. My work hours just aren’t cutting it anymore. College is such a scam,” You complained while picking at your lunch glumly.
Nobara grinned and her head snapped back up. “Why not scam some guys on Tinder? Hmm… maybe an OnlyFans.” She unceremoniously stared you up and down. “You’d be able to make a few thousand if you ask me.”
“I’m not doing that. I have no idea how to even work OnlyFans, let alone make enough cash in the two weeks I have left.” You hesitated at the gravity of your sentence. “... I can’t believe I’m desperate enough to consider that.”
Your friend clasped her hands together gleefully. “You can be a sugar baby!”
You stared at her, speechless.
“Are you serious?” She nodded and placed her chin in her hand smugly. “There’s no way. It’s all scams.” You lamented lamely.
Nobara shrugged and let out a dramatic sigh. “Well, it is fast cash… and you do need three thousand dollars fast.” Her words were exaggerated and drawn out, face contorted animatedly as if to entice you into her insane idea.
It was working. Slightly.
“Well…” You sighed and unlocked your phone to find the app store. “I guess it wouldn’t hurt to try and check it out, right? Just for fun.”
Nobara’s eyes lit up and she slid her seat over to yours to peek at your screen. You clicked on the icon and were brought to the sign up screen.
You hesitated at the username. What now?
“So, what’s your alias going to be?” Nobara confidently ook over the situation. She grabbed your phone and started typing for you. “There’s no way you can use your real name.”
“Hey! What are you - ” She shoved the screen in your face. Your profile is half-filled out: ‘bunnybunny’ as your username and a selfie cropped to show off some of your features, but not enough to reveal your identity. “That’s… not very good.”
She grinned smugly. “Who cares? It makes you sound all cute or whatever. Besides, no one can find you with a username like that and you can peruse in peace.” You sighed in defeat and let her have her moment. You were going to delete the app in a few minutes, anyway.
Nobara clicked a few more times before setting the phone back on your counter.
“FortheFunofIt.” She read out before you could even process the list of profiles before you. “Nope, weirdo, I can tell.” A few more conspicuous names were listed and laughs were exchanged before you very quickly grew tired of the game.
You grabbed the phone and scrolled while she protested to find someone. “They all look like weirdos,” You admitted in defeat. “I’m tapping out. I’ll just… I don’t know. Win the lottery. This was a joke. I need to think of something serious.”
She suddenly pointed to the name at the bottom of the screen: SimpleButEffective1.
“Him!” Nobara cried out. She caught you off guard enough to steal back the phone and tap on his profile.
A man’s face half-hidden by a phone: styled blond hair, harsh cheekbones, and a beautiful brown eye staring at you. To say he was gorgeous was an understatement.
“Not looking for anything serious.”
His age range was listed 25 - 29, a salary over 500k, and one interest noted: cooking. Out of the majority bum profiles you’d seen, his was promising, and he was attractive enough you didn’t see the harm in sending a lame message.
You bit your lip and glanced at Nobara. She was smiling back slyly and rubbed her hands together.
“Alright. What are you saying?”
“You’re way more excited about this than me, Nobara.” You laughed. “Just hi and how are you. If he’s as simple as he claims, he won’t have a problem.”
Nobara groaned. “You’re no fun,” she typed out a message quickly, “I’m giving you sugar baby CPR.”
The phone is shoved back in your face.
“What’s your definition of serious?” You cried out incredulously. “He’s never going to answer that!”
She shut off your phone and placed it across the counter. Her gaze met yours, eyes glinting with glee. Nobara was enjoying this far more than you were.
“First of all, he’ll answer — do you have no faith in me at all?” She sniped playfully, “Secondly, why does it matter if he does? This is just a joke.” Her face looked like a hunter descending on its prey. She’d ensnared you in your own trap.
“You’re way too invested.” You nervously laughed it off. Why did you care so much?
The reply didn’t come immediately, to your dismay. Instead, you and Nobara continued with your day: finishing your lunch, studying for your finals in the library, and going home to watch some tv together. The man lingered in the back of your mind, unfortunately.
You weren’t sure why you cared so much about his response or lack thereof. He was a man on a sugar baby app, that alone was a red flag, right? It could be because he was so gorgeous that you were so mystified with him. Even then, he could very easily be a catfish waiting for a stupid girl like you to fall into his trap.
Ah, there’s nothing like rationalizing your weird obsession with your potential sugar daddy to subdue your embarrassment.
The message came much later. It was just past eleven and you were rewatching your comfort show — due to the stress of finals — and your phone buzzed. Your eyes lit up as you excitedly unlocked your phone to see the notification.
SimpleButEffective1: Whatever you have in mind .
You rolled your eyes. Already such a stick in the mud. Regardless, your heart rate had already picked up and sent adrenaline through your body at the mere response of the mystery man.
bunnybunny: I need money that’s all. it’s not very serious
SimpleButEffective1: Straight to the point, I see .
You bit your lip and threw your phone on your bed in frustration. Maybe you were too harsh. It’s not like you had a single clue what you were doing after all.
Another buzz.
SimpleButEffective1: Why do you need money?
If only Nobara didn’t have such rigorous sleep and skin routines. You felt completely out of your element. Did you tell the truth? Would he find out who you are?
bunnybunny: school is expensive
SimpleButEffective1: It is.
Bubbles appeared and disappeared from the man behind the screen for the next minute. You switched between your home screen and the chat quickly so he wouldn’t see your read receipt right away — as if it mattered. At a first glance, he seemed to be so high-strung that read receipts weren't something he cared about.
SimpleButEffective1: I’ve never done this before. I’m assuming you haven’t either, your profile is new. That being said, I would like to meet in person to get to know you better.
His words were straight to the point, no pussyfooting around it. God, he was pulling you right in. His commands were going straight to all the right places and you wanted to obey.
bunnybunny: That sounds great. when did you want to meet?
Were you really doing this?
SimpleButEffective1: I’m done with work at 6 tomorrow. We will go for dinner.
Tomorrow?
SimpleButEffective1: I’ll send you the address tomorrow afternoon. Be there at 6:30.
Where were you going?
Every message that answered your questions gave you a million more to mull over. This wasn’t supposed to be anything, this was a joke… right? Whether or not you were doing this was just a matter of how truly desperate you were.
God, you were desperate for cash.
You were also in awe of his ability to walk the fine line between commanding and compassionate so well. He’d barely interacted with you and you didn’t know anything about him, yet he was already seared into your brain. You wanted him.
bunnybunny: okay. I’ll see you then :)
SimpleButEffective1: Goodnight, Bunny.
You typed out a text to Nobara letting her know of the conversation before placing your phone down and trying to get some sleep.
———
“Nobara’s a genius!” Itadori yelled, his hands clasped with hers, the pair staring at you with adoring eyes. “You’ll be able to pay off your debt!”
You sighed. It was 1 and you still hadn’t heard anything from him, and to make matters worse, Nobara told Itadori. The duo’s energy was far too much for you in moments like this.
“So, has he decided where we’re going?” Itadori asked absentmindedly.
You raised a brow in confusion, “What do you mean, ‘we’?” He sighed dramatically and glanced at Nobara, who was shaking her head and nose upturned.
“You’re not going alone. We’re going to book a reservation at the same time tonight and protect you.” Nobara haughtily answered.
The duo stared at you smugly, as if waiting for praise for being so kind to you. You sighed and gave them a small thank you before they decided to make any more of a show out of this.
“I can’t believe you’re going to be a sugar baby. Tell me what he said again!” Nobara leaned in as if to read your phone screen.
You rolled your eyes, “We will go for dinner?”
“No, no, of course not. His sign-off,” She sang while leaning back into Itadori, who had the same look of total enrapture.
“Goodnight Bunny?”
“Yes! Oh my God. I’m so jealous of you.” Nobara made a dreamy look and feigned swooning. “I’m such a sucker for pet names.”
You couldn’t help but feel a pinch of resentment towards her behaviour. To her, this was all a fun game and eventually a silly story to be shared in the future. She never had to worry a moment of her life about money, food, or car repairs, but that was all hanging in the balance of this man.
Your phone buzzed and jolted you from your thoughts. Finally, a sign of life from the man: a simple message from him with the name and address, nothing more, nothing less.
“Nobu? That’s super fancy…” he hesitated, “That makes sense.” Itadori wondered out loud innocently.
The three of you were crowded around your screen to look at the message. You type out a simple thank you and see you later under the watchful eyes of your friends.
“Good thing we like sushi.” Nobara plainly noted.
“You’re both insane. Who doesn’t like sushi anyway?” You responded, your tone clipped. “I’m going to get ready. I’ll see you both later.”
You were already exhausted from the two of them. On a good day, they were a handful at best, and it would be something you could normally deal with. Now, it felt like your life was nothing but a source of entertainment while the stakes were so, so high for you.
Two things were abundantly clear: you needed to make this work to graduate this year and you were already infatuated with him. He was gorgeous, mysterious, and already made you far too much. You had to tread carefully — you had to protect your heart.
——
“I’m here to meet - ”
“Come this way.” The hostess cut you off abruptly and spun around to lead you into the restaurant. You were half thankful because you weren’t even sure who you were looking for, to begin with.
It was a dark walled room with soft lighting splayed throughout the ceiling. Live jazz music played in the background as people spoke amongst themselves, but you could barely hear it over the sound of your heart beating in your chest. Your eyes desperately tried to find someone blond to ease your mind that you were even being led in the right direction, but it was hopeless in the dimly lit restaurant.
Abruptly, she halted and gestured to a chair. You avoided looking at the man seated across from you as you carefully sat down.
“Enjoy your evening.”
Just as he murmured a thank you to the woman, you looked up and laid your eyes on who you were sure was the most beautiful man you’d ever seen. Sharp cheekbones and jawline framing dark almond eyes and an expression devoid of any emotion stared at you. He didn’t look displeased or uncomfortable — he just looked tired.
Physically, you wanted him. You weren’t going to try and fuck him now, not when you needed him for completely other reasons than why you wanted him. Sex complicated things.
“Hi.” You squeaked with an awkward smile. His presence was overwhelming to you, not just his godlike beauty, but his very aura.
“Good evening. How are you?” He gestured to the unopened wine and you nodded in response.
“I’m good,” you looked around for your friends, “I won’t lie, I’m nervous,” you admitted hesitantly. You weren’t sure what else to say to him.
“Me too,” he assured you while pouring the wine for the both of you, “But this is all completely informal. Don’t think this is some kind of test.”
You nervously laughed. It was, despite whatever he thought it was. If he didn’t like you, you weren’t going to be able to graduate.
“I’m glad to hear it, I’ve heard enough of tests for a long time, anyways,” You awkwardly tried to lighten the mood before taking a sip of the wine.
A ghost of a smile appeared on his face briefly, the first so far.
“What do you take in school you need so many tests for?”
“I’m in environmental science,” he nodded, “so it’s been intense, to say the least. Exams, labs, the whole nine yards… What was your schooling like? You’re doing pretty well for yourself.”
His gaze barely shifted from you for a split second, but it was long enough to notice the question meant something to him. Maybe you’d overstepped.
He shrugged. “I went to college for business, but that was a long time ago. Enough about me, though.” Another tiny smile, his version of laughing at his own joke. “Why’d you choose that?”
It was your turn to shrug. “The short answer is I don’t want to see the planet die… the long answer is I did so well in high school in all the prerequisites for it I thought I could breeze through.”
“I can appreciate the use of minimum effort when possible.” He answered in complete seriousness. Maybe he wasn’t a total stick in the mud. “Working is shit.”
You laughed, pleasantly surprised with his attitude. “So true. I wish I never had to work another day in my life.”
His stoic gaze morphed to mild confusion, “Are you working now?” You nodded while sipping on some wine. “Your work isn’t enough for school?” Another nod.
The waitress arrived with a few plates of sushi and placed them on your table with the promise of the rest coming shortly. You stared at him in total wonder. How much did all this cost? There was no way you two could eat all of it.
“I hope you don’t mind, I ordered something of everything. I wasn’t sure what you liked.”
You shook your head, “No, no, that’s very kind of you. There’s no way we can eat all of this, though.” It was your turn to be confused as to how and why someone could order so much food.
“You can take as much as you’d like home. I don’t mind.”
You were amazed at how blasé he was about ordering food he knew you could never eat, or food he wasn’t sure you liked to begin with. After all, he was making over five hundred thousand dollars a year — this was mere pocket change to him.
“Thank you,” you caught yourself, remembering you didn’t even know his name, “I’m just shocked at the amount of food in front of me for two people. I can’t remember the last time I saw so much food.”
He gestured a hand to nudge you to begin eating. You grabbed a few salmon rolls onto your plate and gingerly ate them while he went away to his own food. Silence blanketed the table, but you were surprised that it felt somewhat comfortable.
In the corner of your eye, you finally noticed a fluff of pink hair sat at a table a few over from yours. In what you hoped to be inconspicuous, you looked over to see your friends staring at you and giving wild hand gestures instead. You quickly turned away and hoped he didn’t see them with their natural ability to cause a scene in most places the duo went.
His voice suddenly awoke you from your thoughts. “As I said on the app, I’ve never really done this before.” He seemed to be nervous with a quick adjustment to his already neatly straightened leopard print tie. “What do you expect from me?”
You’d already begun to grow accustomed to his off-putting brand of bluntness. He didn’t mince his words and you appreciated it in a situation as odd as the one you were currently in.
“Wouldn't the question be what you expect from me ? You know what I want.” You laid it on thickly with a glance from underneath your lashes and a sip from your wine.
He was unfazed.
“Company.”
You got the feeling he was a bit distanced, a bit cold, but not lonely. Truthfully, you expected sex. A man as attractive as him could get whoever he wanted, though, he didn’t need a sugar baby.
The sudden vagueness was more jarring than his honesty.
“What kind of company?” You probed. Tension was already brewing between the two of you. The one thing you wanted from him began to gnaw at you between your legs.
He glanced at you with a tiny, sad smile suddenly forming. “It’s hard to find people to speak within my line of work… which I won’t be getting into.” The man’s steely aura dissolved as he awkwardly picked at his food. “I’m not normally like this, just so you know. My irritating colleague suggested this as a joke. I never planned to take this seriously.”
You laughed and shook your head, “My friend suggested it as a joke, too. I’m out of my element.”
Another pregnant pause.
“This may be new to me… but I can take care of you, Bunny.”
His words made you light in the head and soaking wet between your legs. You wanted him to take care of you in more ways than one.
“I just need someone, nothing serious or long term, and I happen to like you. I’ll give you whatever you want or need.”
Though you knew you could disagree or walk out at any time you felt like it, his words were commands that you wanted to follow. You wanted to be that someone and you wanted to prove he was right to trust you like this.
“That’s fine with me…?” You trailed off in hope of a name.
“... Nanami.”
“I’m happy with how that sounds, Nanami.” You answered sweetly. “I’m looking forward to getting to know you more.”
Nanami uncomfortably touched his tie again. Maybe you were having the effect you wanted on him after all.
“Me too, Bunny.”
You appreciated he didn’t prod you for your name. Even though he’d given you what you assumed to be his surname, it wasn’t enough to go on, even though you’d try anyway.
Even though Bunny made you cringe internally, it was somewhat growing on you — you weren’t going to tell Nobara that. You thought you were only warming up to it because you liked the way it sounded coming out of his mouth.
The two of you spent your dinner chatting aimlessly while making a dent in the seemingly endless sushi. He was straight-laced and serious, maybe a bit awkward, but he carried just enough charisma to make up for it. His unshakable calm was stable, secure, and oddly safe. That became apparent quickly because you completely forgot about your friends and focused on Nanami alone.
Nanami was a pretty simple guy. Before working this job, he worked as a salaryman, which remained undisclosed as it ‘dealt with highly sensitive material but was most definitely legal’, and he enjoyed food more than most things. He was the definition of reserved, but he was magnetic. His words pulled you in and his aura was intoxicating.
You wanted more.
——
The next morning, you were shocked to wake up to a thousand dollars deposited into your account. Stupidly, hadn’t even discussed an amount, but you weren’t expecting anything so high.
Nanami: I sent the payment for last night. When can I see you again?
Your heart fluttered in your chest, much to your dismay, at the text that appeared as you stared at the number of digits in your account (which had been half the size yesterday).
You knew it was wrong to catch feelings for someone like him — for a handful of reasons.
First and foremost, this was a business transaction that you desperately needed to last for, at the bare minimum, at least three thousand dollars to even bail you out of your current financial shipwreck. He’d specifically noted this was nothing serious, too.
Second of all, he was six years older than you, which was a considerable age gap at twenty one and twenty seven. More so, maturity levels between an employed adult (who was incredibly secretive about his job) and a college student were sizeable. You weren’t exactly shrinking your personality with him, but you were careful with your words.
Lastly, you couldn’t afford to get hurt. If you’d squinted between the lines of what he’d said last night, he kept people at an arm’s length. That was the precise reason he was paying for companionship — it wouldn’t be complicated. Being a sugar baby was inevitably a story to tell in a few years and laugh about, not an embarrassing dark spot about how an older man broke your heart out of your stupidity.
You quickly shifted your mind to racking your brain for your plan this week. Between working, studying, and exams beginning next week, you were pretty swamped.
You: Thank you Nanami :) I can on Thursday or Friday evening.
Nanami: I’ll see you Friday evening. I’ll let you know more details closer to the date.
If he paid you another thousand this week and you had another thousand before the following Friday, you’d be in the clear.
That led to the inevitable question: How long were you going to keep this up?
——
“Give me the friend of the year award, I mean, you’ve successfully bagged a sugar daddy with absolutely no strings attached!” Nobara chimed. She flopped on the couch beside you and twisted her body to face you. “I mean, hold on, are you going to fuck?”
Itadori and Nobara stared at you intently, the pair bug-eyed.
“I don’t think so, he made it pretty clear what he wants.” You responded in false indifference. In truth, you also wanted to know the answer. Nanami had your head spinning and pussy wet over fucking sushi .
Itadori shook his head, “You’re too trusting. He could be reeling you in, (Y/N).” Nobara extended her pointer finger and wagged it in agreement.
“It’s pretty clear who it is if he kills me. There’s a trail with his face in my phone,” you shook your phone in your hand, but as much as you hated to admit it, he had a point.
“Not just murder. A lot of awful things, like — ”
“Okay, I don’t need to know,” you cut him off with a hand raised firmly, “but thanks for thinking of what could happen to me. How do you propose we fix it?”
Animatedly, Nobara placed her chin in her hand in a thinker pose. Itadori copied her immediately.
“Well, stay in public, yeah? At least for the next while. We can come as much as we can.” Itadori surprisingly spoke before Nobara could. “It’s not like we’re doing much else than being with you and — ”
The door swung open. Megumi barged in with a few plastic bags dangling from his wrists. He wordlessly shuffled off his shoes and into the kitchen.
“Hey, Megumi!” Nobara called.
“What?” He sounded entirely disinterested.
Itadori had probably told him about the sugar daddy business. Despite Itadori’s bouncy extraversion, his boyfriend was much quieter and reserved. He probably had some unsavoury opinions about your means of financial incurment, but he’d keep it a minimum, hopefully.
“Thanks for buying our food,” Nobara answered, “I’ll send you the money now!”
Despite Nobara’s immense wealth, she couldn’t drive, so Megumi ended up doing errands for the group quite often. He didn’t seem to mind as long as Nobara gave him some kind of financial compensation, which she would happily give if she didn’t need to go herself.
Momentarily, he emerged from the kitchen and sat down beside Itadori. Itadori leaned on him happily, and despite seeing the pair’s affection countless times before, this time left a pang of jealousy in your stomach. There was only one thing that had changed since you’d last seen them, and you hated to admit what it was.
“(Y/N) was just telling us about Nanami,” Nobara dragged out the last syllable of his name. You regretted telling them his name already. “We’re trying to prevent something bad happening to her. So far, Itadori’s said we can tail her wherever they end up going.”
Megumi sighed and ran a hand through his pink hair softly. “You’re lucky you’re cute,” he shook his head, “that won’t work for a few reasons — and, can I add — you’re insane, (Y/N).”
You knew it was coming. Itadori and Nobara were dumb enough to suggest a ludicrous idea like a sugar daddy and you were dumb enough to follow through, but Megumi was the voice of reason out of your friend group.
“Alright, I appreciate your honesty,” you responded drily, “But please humour me. Why not?”
He smiled gently at you, catching onto the pointedness of your tone, “Well, first of all, it’s not like Thing 1 and Thing 2 are particularly stealthy. They probably made a show out of it, I would be surprised if he didn’t notice them.” You cringed at the idea of him seeing your friends spying on the dinner because he was unfortunately right.
“You’re being way too harsh! We were amazing and we wore all black to be super inconspicuous.” Nobara cut in with a huff and a cross of her arms.
Megumi sighed. “Have you seen the way the two of you behave in public? It’s humiliating.” Itadori shoved him. “Okay, sorry, not humiliating, but you can be... a lot. Plus, he has pink hair? That’s not exactly common.” He treaded lightly with his words.
“I can see that.” Itadori agreed despondently. He curled up even closer to Megumi. “But he didn’t say anything, didn’t he?” You shook your head.
“I don’t think he would,” Megumi pointed out. “Which leads me to my next point: if he did see you two tonight and you show up at the next… outing, what would he do? (Y/N) is desperate for the money.”
Nobara groaned loudly and buried her face in her hands. “I think this is possible with a plan! We can wear wigs! I’ve been saving mine for a long time.” Itadori naturally perked up at this, the two exchanging a knowing glance. You were amused by Itadori’s mental back and forth playing out in front of you.
Again, Megumi ruined their fun. “What’s this guy’s job again — oh wait — it’s some classified thing he can’t talk about because it’s so secret? I’m sure he can see past a wig. Which, by the way, may I add that secret jobs are a huge red flag.”
The three of you groaned together this time.
“He said it wasn’t illegal!” You reasoned, a pout on your face as if to appease him.
Despite only speaking to him for a few hours, you already felt incredibly protective of Nanami. Even though Megumi was just being a good and rightfully concerned friend, you’d made up your mind that Nanami was a good person. You had no grounds to make that kind of assumption, though.
Megumi rolled his eyes. “Repeat what you just said.” Itadori peeked up from his position at this, followed by an uncharacteristically sombre nod.
You bit your lip, unsure of how to counter his logic. He was right, and it was concerning, no matter how desperately you believed Nanami to be a good person. If you could just prove it to them, it’d be fine —
Why did you care so much about their opinion of them? What’d you have to prove? It’s just money. You just needed three thousand dollars. You needed to slow down with your infatuation with Nanami.
“What do you think, then?” Nobara jabbed, asking the question that had also been on your mind.
He shrugged. “I’m not sure.” Another resounding groan.
“Well, great, thanks, we’re back to square one of Itadori’s list of things that could go wrong.” You glumly added. This was putting a wrench in your plans.
An uncomfortable silence descended in the living room of your dorm. You picked up your phone and reread your messages with him again. He was serious, but never pushy, distanced, but not uncaring. You wished you could explain how calming his presence was, unlike the way being around most men made you feel. It had to count for something, right?
“We’ll go this time at least — what if you ask some questions that’ll clear him of suspicions of being a weird guy? Like, I don’t know, his opinions on abortion or something.” Nobara broke the silence. She had obviously been deep in thought about this.
You all turned for Megumi’s stamp of approval. “Like what?” He deadpanned, clearly bored of the antics.
“I don’t know! If he supports women’s rights he can’t be a mass murderer! They have no empathy.” Nobara, clearly annoyed, retorted. She failed to take into account liars in her equation.
You were beginning to grow tired of the back and forth too.
“I’ll figure it out on my own.” You cut the conversation off firmly. “This is my issue, I don’t need you all to solve it. Megumi has made some good points though, so thank you.” He nodded.
“What’s your plan?” Itadori sat up and rested his chin in his hands, genuinely curious.
That was a great question.
“Not sure yet, but I have a few days. I’ll be fine.” You stood up and grabbed your water to take a few thoughtful sips. This wasn’t going to be great for finals when you had all this stress on your mind.
The conversation swiftly changed at the behest of Megumi, who seemed to sense your discomfort unlike the other two.
At the very least, you could handle yourself if it was in public, but you doubted he wouldn’t suggest something private, thankfully. Depending on the location, maybe Nobara and Itadori could go again, but that would be it. Megumi was resoundingly right about their behaviour in public — there was nothing secretive about it.
You padded into the kitchen to grab a snack. Your mind was everywhere else than where it needed to be: on work, school, money, anything important. Instead, this man was consuming your thoughts.
You jumped when Megumi appeared in front of you, his entrance silent.
“You’ve done it now, huh?” Megumi gently scolded you. He leaned against the counter while you rummaged around in the cupboards for something. “Too proud to take Nobara’s money again, I see.”
You shut the cupboard and moved to the fridge. “What would you do in my situation?” You pathetically responded while avoiding eye contact with him.
“Take her money!” He incredulously whispered, clearly fearing Nobara’s wrath. Megumi slid beside you, handed you some cherries from the fridge, and shut it. “There are so many steps you could’ve taken before this, (Y/N). I don’t want to patronize you, I’m worried about you. This is insane.”
Megumi’s words hit you like a ton of bricks. It was insane what you were doing. You couldn’t even believe you were, as much as you hated to admit it, completely attracted to Nanami, to make matters worse.
You set the fruit on the counter. “So what do I do?”
He sighed and grabbed a bowl from the cupboard. “I don’t know yet.”
“I’ll figure it out on my own, it’s okay.” You tried to shut down the conversation again.
He shook his head. “You don’t have to do it alone, (Y/N). We’re here for you. Again, I’m worried about you.” Megumi gently nudged you out of the way and shook some of the fruit in the bowl. Wordlessly, he washed them and put the cherries back into the fridge.
You couldn’t do much but watch. The conversation you had in the living room gave you a lot to think about, but so did this. He stalked back into the other room and left you alone again.
Megumi was always a man of few words. He was serious and blunt. You didn’t mind, you appreciated you had someone to keep your head on your shoulders when you were too far in the clouds. He was a silent protective type, his love showed in his actions more than anything.
The time he took to talk to you spoke volumes of his concern for you and your situation. You realized now you were in over your head for the first time since Nobara made you download the stupid app.
Still, the feeling of Nanami’s overwhelmingly secure and tranquil presence lingered in you, like a permanent brand.
You trusted him. You shouldn’t. You don’t know him.
You popped your head into the living room to announce you were going to your room to study. The last thing you needed was to be so out of it in front of all of them. They’d catch on fast.
You shut the door to your room and placed the cherries on your desk to flop on your bed.
You were completely and utterly fucked.
——
The next few days passed peacefully with little to no mentions of your increasingly stressful sugar daddy situation. You studied successfully for your finals, even went out with your friends, and paid off a chunk of your tuition with the cash he gave you.
You were still unsure how to properly insure your safety as the day approached and it was eating you up. Despite Megumi’s affirmations, you weren’t sure how else they could help you. So, you sat alone in the library with nothing but a barely read textbook, half drank coffee, and a brain unable to shut off your constant worrying.
You were clueless. Completely, absolutely, totally lost on how to proceed while maintaining your safety. You felt like you would be fine, you felt like he was trustworthy, but you knew your feelings meant nothing.
It was so incredibly frustrating.
Nanami, in one word, was magnetic. He left you breathless and reeling, completely fixated on every word that came from his mouth. He was godlike in not only his appearance, but in the way he carried himself. You wanted to be swept away in him.
Despite his harshness, not only in his appearance but his forthright language, you could feel his softness. He reminded you of Megumi: his actions were much more telling of what was going on in his head instead of his words. He’d opened up the Uber’s car door for you when you’d left last time, poured every glass of wine you’d drank, and asked you a few times throughout the evening if you were doing okay.
None of your friends could understand that. They weren’t there. You knew trying to describe that to them would make matters much worse. If they knew of your feelings for him, it would make you an unreliable narrator, and you’d be fawned over even more.
He was harmless, really, he just seemed tired, a bit lonely, and hardened from the world. You didn’t know what he’d seen to make him so detached and you didn’t want to find out, either. You could offer him the one thing he asked of you, though, and that was enough.
The one thing you wanted from him — aside from his money — was to be able to see what he was beyond the seemingly impossible wall he’d built around himself.
Your phone buzzed with a text, jolting you from your thoughts.
Nanami: I hope you’re doing well. For Friday, I’ve planned for us to eat dinner at one of my favourite places.
You: I hope you are too! That sounds lovely. What’s the address?
Nanami: I can pick you up.
You froze. This would go against every single thing you and your friends had discussed.
You wondered what car he drove.
You: It’s okay. I can meet you there. What’s the address?
You stopped yourself from imagining too much. It was a dangerous line of thinking to entertain your infatuation with this man.
Nanami: That’s fine.
He sent the address and time, and you quickly looked it up — yet another fancy restaurant you couldn’t afford to eat at yourself. You let him know you’d see him there and went back to their incredibly lavish website.
Mercedes.
That’s what he had to drive.
——
Here you found yourself again, outside of a beautiful restaurant in an upscale area that you’d never even dreamed of being in.
There was no kind of plan in place and you were terrified. You’d been trying to remind yourself there was a paper trail to him if anything happened to you. You had promised you’d text them every hour and your safe word was pineapple if the worst happened.
You apprehensively pushed the door open and immediately found none other than Nanami waiting for you in the lobby. Your heart fluttered at the mere sight of him, still devastatingly handsome and clad in a dark suit.
“Nanami?” You called while approaching him. He turned and his eyes fell on you — you noticed them bob up and down your body momentarily — and he briefly smiled.
He walked up to you and placed his large hands on your arms to press a kiss on your cheek. “Good to see you, Bunny,” Nanami whispered in your ear.
His right hand slightly dragged down the exposed skin of your left arm gently as he pulled away. You hoped he couldn’t feel the goosebumps forming from his touch, embarrassingly.
Nanami walked further into the dimly lit restaurant. You tailed him closely, afraid of somehow losing him, like a lost puppy. This restaurant was so high-end even Nobara hadn't heard of it, much to your disbelief, and it sounded like reservations were far and few between. This was not your scene.
He murmured something to the host so low you couldn’t hear them. The host began walking away, and before Nanami followed, he turned to make sure you were with him. Another heartbeat skipped in your pounding chest.
The three of you walked into a beautiful room lit with pink and blue lights. Candles, plants, the smell of lavender and the sound of soft classical music — everything seemed to ooze casual bourgeois. There were only five or six other tables spread out throughout the room, creating an intimate ambiance. You were incredibly overwhelmed by everything in the room.
Suddenly, Nanami pulled out a chair in front of you and gestured for you to sit. You awkwardly sat, the host’s eyes boring into your side, and he pushed the chair in for you.
You tuned out the conversation between Nanami and the man, something about what wine to buy. If the last restaurant was only fancy, this was a minimum of six financial classes above yours. You inconspicuously peeked at him across the table.
He was deep in the conversation, thankfully, because you were taking in all of his beauty. You’d never get tired of him, his eyes, the cheekbones, or the seemingly permanent indifference.
You winced at your thoughts and turned away abruptly. It was getting harder and harder to ignore the swell of feelings rotting your brain.
“I got a white tonight, I hope that’s alright.” Nanami suddenly spoke up. “A chardonnay, to be exact.” He absentmindedly adjusted his right cufflink and looked up at you expectantly.
You got a shiver down your spine. He didn’t need to tell you to answer, just a look had you reeling. This was hitting new lows for you already.
“I like chardonnay. Thank you, Nanami.” You answered softly. “You’re into wine?”
He nodded thoughtfully. “It’s something I’ve spent some time educating myself on for cooking, but it’s not a massive hobby.” Rich people's hobbies included getting casually into wine tasting, you mused.
“So aside from cooking, what else do you like to do?” You prodded softly.
He picked up a menu and answered without even looking at you. “Sometimes I’ll hike. I’ll read on my weekends. I don’t do much.” That would add up with the entire paying for companionship situation you were both in. “What about you?”
You hated that he only left you scraps about himself. Maybe there wasn’t as much to him as you thought there was, but you couldn’t shake the feeling he was being purposefully closed off.
“I’ve been pretty busy with school, to be honest. It’s pretty sad.” You hesitated on divulging more information about yourself, but you hoped if you did, maybe he’d open up a bit more. “If I’m not in school or studying, I’m usually with my friends. We’re pretty close.”
His eyes flicked up in interest. “You’re always with your friends? You don’t do anything else?” Nanami’s voice was so serious, but his tone was the opposite, dripping with care.
“My roommate and I have been best friends since we were kids. She’s the one who got me on the app and probably the only person who’d be able to convince me to do that.” You laughed and shook your head. “I guess I like to bake a bit, but just stuff I find online. I’m pretty one-dimensional.”
“I don’t think you are.” He shut you down without so much as a second thought. His eyes were still firmly trained on the menu as if it wasn’t a second thought. You were thankful because there was a hot blush creeping up on your cheeks.
“Thank you.”
You were both quiet, so you take this as a sign to finally pick up the menu, which you’d been dreading. What the hell is an ortolan? Foie gras? A truffle; isn’t that a dessert?
“Three thousand for fugu sashimi?! I’ve never even heard of fugu before.” You tutted in shock. You’d not heard of the majority of the menu, actually, let alone a fish that expensive.
“You need to be certified to cook and serve fugu because of its poison. It’s rare and requires a lot of preparation.” He answered, a near undetectable amount of smugness lacing his tone. Of course he knew that.
You scoffed, “I’ve been scraping by in comparison, but I do feel lucky to be able to try new things like poisonous fish.” You didn’t even know you could eat poisonous fish — why wouldn’t you just leave it in the ocean? Maybe you were too broke to get the appeal of it.
He cocked a brow, “What do you mean by scraping by? Are you struggling to pay for the necessary groceries?” It made your heart skip a beat at the genuine concern twisted on his face.
“All college students do.” You shrugged without a second thought.
You assumed the conversation dropped off while you continued your search for dinner, but you heard a soft thump in front of you. Your eyes darted up to see a napkin neatly folded with a few bills sticking out. Nanami stared at you expectantly.
You rifled through the cash to count a total of five hundred dollars.
“This is too much, I can’t accept this.” You immediately countered in discomfort. That was a lot of money, to you at least.
His eyes narrowed gently. Nanami seemed like the kind of man whose actions were methodical and purposeful, whether or not it was intentional. You were concerned for a moment that perhaps you’d offended him by turning him down.
“The least I can do while asking so much of you is make sure you’re taken care of. Will you let me, Bunny?”
You hesitated and tried to avoid his stare — entirely all-consuming, following your every move — but you couldn’t pull yourself away from him.
“I want you to…” you hesitated uncomfortably. While you loved his intensity, sometimes it felt like the sun was burning too brightly over you.
“But?”
“But… I’m nervous. You’re someone I just met off of a sugar daddy app,” you laughed awkwardly to try and diffuse some of your growing anxiety, “There’s a lot of unknowns. I feel like I can trust you, I just don’t know if I should yet.”
You winced at the severity of your words. If he was going to blow up on you and show his true colours, now would be the time. Your breath hitched when he placed the menu down and leaned into the table to get closer to you.
“I understand. I’m an older man from a pretty shady app,” you nodded in agreement, a wave of relief crashing over you, “and I know I’ll need to earn your trust. That’s fine.”
“I feel the same way, I’m sure you’re nervous about spending so much on a random college girl.” Nanami shrugged at your comment. There was a pregnant pause before he broke the silence again.
“You’ve shown up both times and you’ve been nothing but pleasant to spend time with, just as I requested. I can’t complain, truthfully.” Nanami answered nonchalantly. You couldn’t help the smile growing on your face from his casual compliments. “I want you to be able to trust me, as companions would do. Is there anything I can do to ease your mind?”
You racked your head for an answer. What would ensure you knew who he really was? What was a sign of trust, even?
“What’s your full name?” You finally decided on a whim.
“Nanami Kento.”
It inexplicably suited him. He didn’t seem angry, uncomfortable, or disturbed with telling you his name, it seemed like the opposite and he was eager to appease you.
He stared at you, he was expecting a response again. There was still no pressure for you to tell him your name, which dawned on you to use to your advantage.
“If you keep calling me Bunny and don’t ask me my name, I’ll… I’ll trust you.” He looked rightfully confused. “I know your name and you don’t know mine. If anything happens, you don’t know my identity but I know yours.”
“That’s pretty flimsy, Bunny,” he warned paternally. “There’s nothing else you want from me?”
You shook your head. “That’s fine.”
“I understand trust is earned, and not given. Please believe I’ll take care of it.”
Take care of your trust, take care of you. He was making it hard to breathe. For someone you’d just met, he was far more than you’d expected. No one had ever made you feel so important so fast.
“Thank you,” you managed, realizing there had been another long pause. “You’re very good to me. Thank you.” You repeated without so much as a second thought, immediately regretting your words.
“I should be thanking you, Bunny. Stop that.” He gently pressed you to stop with the thanking. Dumbfounded, you kept your mouth shut. “Now that we’ve squared that way, would you please accept the money?” Still speechless, you vigorously nodded
You’d forgotten about the cash.
He picked back up the menu again. The moment had passed. All you could do was listen to the sound of your heart in your chest and the soaring of blood in your ears. He’d made you speechless yet again.
You grabbed the envelope and opened up your purse to fish out your wallet. Both your purse and wallet had been worn and torn through use and felt completely out of place. Nanami eyed it, embarrassingly, and you quickly crammed the bills away awkwardly. They barely fit from the thickness.
He nodded, almost to himself, when you put away your purse. No, not to himself, but rather it was a small praise for following his order.
His casual dominance made you acutely aware of the desire flowing through your body. He liked being in control. Logically, you knew you should take that as a red flag, but he was so emphatic on your comfort you welcomed it — maybe you enjoyed it.
You slowly picked up your menu and tried to focus on picking something.
“Any ideas what you want to order?” He asked. “You seem a bit lost,” he barely laughed, but you could pick up something.
“That obvious?” You nodded your head. “No clue, but I’m steering away from the poisoned fish.”
He smiled. Not a small, unnoticeable kind of smile, but a full one that wrapped around his face. It was beautiful.
“Alright, noted.” The smile vanished as fast as it appeared to your dismay. “What about the lobster bisque?”
“I have no idea what a bisque is, but I’ll trust your judgment,” you resigned with a defeated smile and placed your menu down.
“You’ll see when it comes.” He put down his own.
A waiter came to your table with the wine in a bucket of ice. He poured the wine for you while idly chatting with Nanami about the bottle of wine, apparently aged over ten years, and then took your orders. He ordered something sounding very French and very expensive, so you didn’t bother asking.
“May I?” He swiftly uncorked the bottle of wine and you nodded. “Finally getting used to the finer side of dining?” You were confident enough with your time with him to know despite his tone, he was being a pinch sarcastic.
“I never will.” You laughed nervously.
“Cheers to trying anyways,” he replied coolly, unbothered. Your glasses clinked.
The wine was amazing, as expected, and much better than a cheap bottle you’re accustomed to buying for yourself. You didn’t want to imagine the price he was paying for the two of you tonight — there were far too many digits for every meal on the menu. The truth of it was maybe you could get used to the finer things in life, even if it was temporary, but never being spoiled like this.
You couldn’t stop smiling even if you wanted to. Every time this man spoke to you, he was saying all the right words to push your buttons. Was he even aware of his effect on you? You couldn’t bear the thought of him purposefully saying what he was to see you squirm.
You chose to believe his slight awkwardness was a sign of obliviousness.
“If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go?” You decided to take control of the conversation with something more interesting than hobbies.
“Good question,” he hesitated, took a thoughtful sip of his wine, and placed it back down. “One day, I’ll quit my job. I’ll move somewhere peaceful where I can be alone.” Another long pause. “Working is shit, Bunny.”
You admired that he knew what he wanted. He’d said working is shit last time, too; you liked he wasn’t the typical corporate lapdog (assuming he wasn’t a corporate worker). He was realistic and simplistic, never dramatic.
“Where’d you want to go?” He shrugged.
“Malaysia, maybe.”
“I’ve heard it’s beautiful there.”
Another shrug. “It’d be a simple life. These luxuries are wonderful, yes, but I don’t need any of this,” he sighed to himself, “I had to pay for companionship. I’m sure it says a lot about the state of affairs in my life.”
“I’m sure you have a plausible reason for it. You’re a good person.” You countered with a sudden rush of confidence, “You’re good company.”
You don’t need to pay me to see you , you guiltily admit to yourself — but you needed the money.
Nanami shook his head and leaned back into his chair. His eyes bore into yours. He made subtle dominance look effortless.
“That’s very kind.” He didn’t elaborate any further to your dismay. “What about you?”
“I haven’t decided yet, maybe Italy. The Amalfi Coast looks beautiful.” You’d never thought much about your answer, you’d been too broke, it just seemed like a good question to ask someone. It said a lot about a person.
“It’s extraordinary. I went for a work trip once, I’m still gutted I couldn’t stay longer.” A work trip? You desperately wanted to know what he did for a job — trips to Italy in top secret confidence?
He ran his right hand through his hair lazily, like a second thought. Despite its mundaneness, something about the action made you weak in your knees.
“Then it’s definitely at the top of my list.” You nearly winced at the poor attempt at flirting. “Where else have you been?” But you weren’t going to give up on finding out more about him, either.
“It was for a few clients when I was a salaryman. Italy, Greece, and Cuba.” You deflated a bit when he said ‘salaryman’, but at the very least happy he was sharing more. “I didn’t get to see much. It was all a game of kiss ass.”
“Really not a fan of corporate life, huh?”
“It’s all bullshit, Bunny,” Nanami promised earnestly, “I won’t bother you with such trivial matters, but if I can assist you in working as little as possible through our deal, I want to.” He clearly wanted the topic to change. You were happy to oblige.
He wanted to help you?
Such a simple sentence made you confront the inevitable. You were undeniably catching feelings and fast. How couldn’t you? Everything he said to you was so sweet and so tender and came out of his mouth without so much as a second thought. He cared about you, even if it was because of your arrangement, he wanted you to be safe.
Nanami was intoxicating and you couldn’t get enough of it. He was the sun and you were sucked into his gravitational pull that kept you orbiting around him constantly. You wanted to keep this arrangement up as long as you could, you decided, if it meant being with him longer.
However, you weren’t completely out of the woods yet.
You told him you’d trust him, yes, but you still had to tread lightly for now. If he knew you were putty in the palm of his hands, it could be dangerous. Again, you believed in what your heart was telling you — he was genuine.
The truth of the matter was if he knew how much of an effect he had on you, you could potentially be in danger still. Choosing to see the best in him yet again, you believed he was blissfully unaware.
Your friends would have your head if they knew what was going through your mind.
“You’ve already helped me so much with my tuition, I can’t thank you enough,” you smiled widely and took a sip of the wine nervously.
“I’m pleased to hear it. I’m sure school has been stressful in more ways than one.” Nanami’s eyebrows creased in concern — as much as they could for someone like him — and he leaned back in.
“Tell me about it,” You sighed and took a bigger sip of the wine at the very mention of it.
He gestured a hand out as if to implore you to keep going.
“You don’t want to hear about school.” You teased, trying to sound as light as possible while probing for how serious he was. You weren’t exactly sure why he’d want to hear about something so stressful and draining as school, though.
“No, please. You’ve heard enough of my bitching about work. I’d like to hear about your school anyways…” he hesitated, “It’s what friends do if that eases your mind about my interest.”
Companionship to friends already? Your heart was beating in your throat at the sudden change from something so distant to something so familiar.
“Oh, I mean, only if you want… friend,” you breathily laughed while you struggled with the feeling of the sky falling on you. “Finals start next week and I’m pretty nervous. I study all the time, don’t get me wrong, but if I fail a single exam I can’t graduate.”
“Your finals begin next week and you’re entertaining someone like me instead?” Another faint, smug smile on his face.
“What does that make me?” You casually flirted with the adrenaline still pumping through your veins to give you confidence.
He laughed. Only a small one, barely an exhale, but the smile confirmed it.
“I’m not sure yet,” he looked out to the dreamy room and back to you, “but I’m leaning towards pretty damn smart.”
Maybe he did know how bad you had it for him after all.
The night carried on and you didn’t learn much more about Nanami as you wanted to, unfortunately. Instead, you talked too much about yourself: about school, your three best friends, your job, everything in your life.
Nanami was incredibly eager to learn more about you; it was never in a desperate way, he just seemed happy to hear you speak.
Despite how high-strung he seemed to be, he was a bit more open and expressive, which you treasured. He didn’t seem very open with anyone, let alone a stranger like you. Maybe you’d only met each other twice so far, but it felt much longer.
He was so hard to read. The odd time you got the faintest hint of obvious emotion, which you had to search for to even catch. That aside, he seemed more comfortable with you — daring to even call you friends — and shared more about himself than before.
Nanami was making it harder and harder to be strictly business.
Thankfully, you were nearly out of the woods for your tuition, but you were found yourself in another one. You didn’t want to admit the feelings you had for him to yourself because it would only make things that much worse, and you couldn’t afford something like that (quite literally).
You were already falling hard for him.
——
Another thousand dollars was deposited in your account and another text from Nanami. You were never going to get used to the money or the fact you could even be associated with someone like him.
Nanami: Good afternoon, Bunny. I enjoyed seeing you last night. I have some plans I would love to do with you tonight, but I understand exams are busy, you’re working, and this is last minute — please let me know when you have a chance. Talk soon.
Tonight? What could he have planned?
‘Talk soon.’
You smiled far too wide. It wasn’t much, but it was a sign of affection he hadn’t shown before.
Take a breath, (Y/N), you were only friends — not friends, he was your business partner.
“Well, really, ‘cause who doesn’t like Doja Cat?” Nobara snapped you from your thoughts. “It was just a red flag.”
Itadori nodded. “So true,” he sat on the couch in your living room lazily and began unpeeling a banana.
“What do you think, (Y/N)?”
“Yeah, it’s definitely a red flag,” you mumbled. You’d tuned out a while ago.
She clicked her tongue. “Exactly.”
You: No, I can. Where to?
“Anyways, are you coming?” Itadori moved on swiftly. He stared at you, wide-eyed while chewing the fruit.
You couldn’t help but look shocked at the question. “Who, me?” Two nods. “Where?”
Nobara groaned loudly. “So you didn’t hear the story about the girl who got me in the VIP section of — never mind!” She shook her head in defeat at the sight of you still very clueless.
“Nobara got us in the VIP section of some fancy club tonight. You in?” Itadori spoke for Nobara, who had moved on to texting someone rather intensely. “I know exams are coming up, but did you want to come as a last hurrah before crunch time?” He tried to get you to crumble, gesturing prayer hands as if to plead his case.
“Well…” You weren’t a liar, but you weren’t sure how they’d take you going to see him instead of going with you. “I just made some plans tonight. I’ll catch you all next time for sure.”
Nobara and Itadori stared at you completely blankly, which was far more terrifying than any kind of face they could’ve made.
“With who?” He answered in near disgust.
Nobara hit him and let out an ‘ugh’. “Her sugar daddy, Yuuji!” He made an ‘o’ face and went back to silently eating.
“He just asked me and I’m so close to paying off my tuition a week early!” You tried to reason your way out of it, but you weren’t sure if —
“Are you saying that to us or you, hmm?” She finished your thoughts with a smug smile dancing on her face. “If only Megumi was here, he’d have something wise to say,” Nobara sighed and sat beside you. Itadori seemed to have tuned out himself, now on his phone. You were grateful because you didn’t need Megumi’s ‘wise words’ to make you feel dumber than you already did.
“So, really, tell me more about what he’s like. Serious and sexy doesn’t do too much for the imagination. You were gone for hours, (Y/N),” she leaned in with a huge grin, “don’t be stingy!”
You backed up a bit, suddenly feeling very aware of her and how important it was to handle this with tact.
“Well, those are the most important things,” you nervously huffed, but Nobara remained unappeased. “What do you want to know then?”
She sighed dramatically and folded her arms, “You’re too serious! Just describe what it’s like to be around him.”
That was the million dollar question, wasn’t it?
Earth shatteringly overwhelming in every sense of the word. Tension so thick you could cut it with a knife. Velvety words soothing any kind of anxiety that could arise with ease. A real life fairytale where your fantasies came to life in front of you.
“He’s…” Honest. Domineering. Suave. Magnetic. “He’s pretty quiet.”
“You’re boring. Tell me the good stuff — Nanami doesn’t froth your loins?” She teased you with a gentle nudge. You couldn’t control the heat forming at your cheeks, much to your chagrin.
“I mean, he is gorgeous.” You lamely tried to feed her appetite for gossip. Gorgeous was an understatement. “Also, you did not need to say froth my loins .”
“You’re impossible.” Nobara scoffed and pushed some hair behind her ear, revealing a gold plated Chanel bracelet daintily hanging from her wrist.
The world felt very small from your shitty college dorm living room all of a sudden. From talks of the Amalfi Coast and fugu to this, you were disappointed at the rude awakening of just how temporary this situation was for you. You wanted it to last, but just how long could you do this?
“Please, anything but this,” you begged her to change the topic, “tell me about this girl you met.”
“Oh, Maki?” That would keep her entertained and you did want to hear more about the woman who’d stolen your friend’s heart.
She chatted about the girl she’d been seeing for a while. You gave a yes or a nod when she needed it, not that you minded. It was refreshing to hear about someone else’s love life in depth and the thrill of knowing you’re falling for someone else as much as they are.
Just like Megumi and Itadori, there was a familiar stab at your heart: jealousy.
The only difference was him.
Maki called her in the middle of the conversation, so she giddily left you alone with Itadori in the living room. He was still enthralled in whatever was happening on his phone, so you finally gave in to checking your texts.
Nanami: It’s a surprise, Bunny. Did you want to meet me there again?
Your heart fluttered. Nobara’s stupid nickname had officially wedged its way into your mind like a parasite. You could swear you could feel the dopamine rush when he used it on you.
You: Yes, please. When?
You: Where?
Nanami: Behave, Bunny.
You were already typing out another message and quickly deleted it with glee. His commands were enough to make you melt into a sexually frustrated puddle on the spot.
Nanami: I’ll send you the address later tonight. I’d hate for you to ruin your own surprise.
He’d recovered from the initial weirdness of meeting his sugar baby, you concluded, because he was far too charming for this to be accidental.
“You like him a lot.” Itadori suddenly commented. Your head shot up only to make eye contact with him staring intently at you. “I can tell. You’re never so shy with her.”
He’d been listening.
“What do you mean?” You tried to feign stupidity, a pointless action. It seemed useless to try and lie anymore.
He only stood up and headed towards the door. “Be careful, (Y/N),” Itadori warned you with uncharacteristic seriousness, “Tell her we’ll be by later. Have a good night!” Back to his cheery self.
Sometimes you underestimated him with his sunny demeanour, but he was incredibly observant. You’d received two warnings from your three friends, a harrowing omen.
You took it as a cue to go to your room instead of dealing with yet another stressor in your life.
After getting off to fantasizing of him between your legs, you had come to a few truths of which you were absolutely sure of.
First of all, Nanami was a good man who, perhaps only on a surface level, cared for you.
Second of all, he could be an incredibly dangerous man.
Lastly, your feelings were ardent and impossible to ignore anymore. You were wrapped around his finger like a puppet.