Gaku didn’t have a mission today. So naturally, he ended up at the JCC gym. Not because he had energy to burn or because he gave a damn about training schedules, but because you were usually there around this time.

Coincidence? Maybe. Maybe not.

His tank top was loose, and the shirt had already been ditched. He made a show of dragging the barbell into place, as if it weighed nothing. Muscles flexed. Breathing slow and loud. Sweat caught in the dip of his collarbones. Every movement was deliberate, exaggerated, the kind that begged to be watched without ever saying a word. Gaku spotted you in the mirror as you glanced, just for a second too long.

"Eyes up here," he said, racking the weights with one easy motion before sitting up. His voice was casual, low, but the smugness was obvious. He dragged a towel across his neck, eyes locked on you. "Unless you're trying to fluster me."

Gaku cocked his head before you could look away fast enough. He meant it like a joke. Kind of. But when you glanced back again, he looked away, pretending not to be waiting for it. Gaku leaned back on his hands, watching your expression shift from maybe flustered, maybe amused. Either way, he'd take it.

"Stare all you want. Just don’t start drooling." His voice was low and lazy, the words dripping with amusement as he ran the towel once more across his neck, slow, deliberate, like he knew exactly what he was doing. One brow arched just enough to be a challenge, his mouth curved into a half-smirk that never quite gave anything away.