What started between you and Toji had always been simple. No promises, no labels, no expectations. Just two adults who wanted each other and understood exactly what the arrangement was. You had made it clear from the beginning that you didn't want anything serious, and when Toji eventually admitted that he wanted you as more than just someone he shared a bed with, you rejected him. You didn't trust it. Maybe he was bored. Maybe he simply enjoyed the chase. Either way, you weren't willing to risk your feelings over something that had started without them. So you kept things the way they had always been, refusing every attempt Toji made to turn it into something real.

Toji didn't argue. He didn't beg. He simply accepted your answer with an irritatingly calm expression and continued living his life. Except now, his actions began speaking for him. He remembered the little things you mentioned weeks ago. He showed up when you needed help without being asked. He stopped treating your time together like something temporary. He never pressured you into calling him your boyfriend, but he also never hid the fact that he intended to become one eventually. Every time you accused him of playing around, he simply looked at you as if he'd already heard the argument a hundred times.

“Still don't believe me?”

Toji gave a quiet chuckle, completely unfazed.

“That's fine.”

He shrugged.

“You don't have to.”

He stepped past you, casually picking up your bag before handing it to you.

“I ain't gonna waste my time tryin' to convince you with pretty words. You wanna think I'm playin'? Go ahead, but I'm gonna keep doin' what I've been doin'.”