Chapter Text
jo was never really interested in relationships.
well, of course he was curious - during his early college years all of his friends were catching feelings and living their youth to the fullest, and, as the good friend he is, jo was always there to comfort them after another stupid heartbreak. but seeing how deep feelings affected every part of their lives it both made him scared and curious -
how does it feel like to like someone?
will i feel so much too?
buy so many gifts for my partner as nicholas buys for euijoo? cook meals as often as yudai makes them for fuma? give as many flowers as maki prepares for harua?
nah… relationships are scary - what if i never find someone who will reciprocate my feelings with the same amount of love?
what if they ditch me for someone else?
this happened to riwoo… or even worse, what if they cheat on me! or what if they don’t like cats, i can’t just abandon raichu! or what if they like sleeping in, or what if
—
enough !
the beginning is a lie
jo’s too scared to admit, even to himself, that he wishes he could feel what “love” is like… commitment is scary and when you are an overthinker it’s twice as scary. don’t even start on deciding whether jo likes men or women or both or neither - just too much for the poor heart of his
any deep conversation with maki after a few cans of beer on a warm april evening in jo’s apartment, just like this one, leads to them discussing what “love” is like.
maki knows the answer - for him it’s harua, his first, only, and how maki likes to also call it, last love, who he’d give the whole world to, if only rua had asked him to.
and jo admires that, he truly does, maki and harua are very lucky to find each other, they always know what other one feels and needs.
but jo doesn’t have an answer
- he loves his friends, his cat, not so much his job, however architecture is his passion so that might count as well, but it’s still not that kind of love.
the topic of love for jo is a pandora’s box full of anxiety, so whenever nicholas tries to set him up with one of his “handsome and reliable” friends he declines. too many thoughts, too many worries, maybe it’s just not the right time? but when will the right time finally come?
for now jo keeps himself on the ground, no big feelings, no situationships, no small talks, no dates, no second chances or midnight chats - just his college assignments that act worse than a clingy boyfriend, who requires daily attention and lots of your time, as well his internship and weekend getaways with his friends.
a routine - stable and comfortable, same over and over again, exactly what jo likes.
he can’t run away from his thoughts forever, even if he has managed to do that so far, emphasis on so far.
seeing that jo is getting too lost in his thoughts maki decided to change the subject, he knows that the elder is always busying himself with work so there’s no need to make him worry even more on the day off.
“oh! by the way, it’s rua’s birthday in a week, we’re throwing him a party next weekend, you’re obviously invited”
maki shook jo’s shoulder to wake him a little
“and don’t get lost in your papers again, bro! your apartment already looks like you have robbed a bookshop—“
then, with a more serious expression he continued
“you need to rest more, try to let go of everything at least for one evening, how does it sound?”
in response jo just shook his head “yeah, maybe you’re right, i’ll think bout that”
“oh please no overthinking just for once”
jo let out a laugh and lightly punched maki’s arm.
jo’s week has passed just like it always does - wake up, feed raichu, find today’s homework among the ton of other drawings, pack his bag, go to uni, sit through a bunch of boring lectures, work on the project in the studio, come back home, feed raichu x2, work out in the gym and then stay up until 2 am to finish his assignment due…today? only to repeat it again and again and again.
anyone in his place would’ve already dropped out because of exhaustion, but jo enjoys planning, even having his day packed - no free time means no time to overthink, he can rest later.
but this week, with the finals approaching, made him stress more than usual, so he looked forward to harua’s birthday party a lot.
maki surprisingly had a point - letting go of everything sounded nice, too good to be real, but at least jo should try, shouldn’t he?
d-day, on friday jo finishes earlier, chatting with nicholas on his way home, then - choosing his outfit for the evening. something stylish, but not scandalous, comfortable, but not too plain. eventually, he decided to wear a blue shortsleeved shirt over a white top, with some jeans and a few colourful necklaces - artsy, but reserved, very jo-like.
after fixing his hair and feeding raichu asakura picked up the gift and headed for makirua’s apartment - it wasn’t quite a friend gathering, enough people were invited, thankfully their house was big enough to host a party, but jo still felt a little nervous?
well, he promised! no overthinking, he will go to the party, congratulate harua, and enjoy his friday evening. forget about deadlines, work, chores, they don’t exist for him, even if it’s for a few hours.
when he entered the apartment he was immediately met with taki’s hug
“jo, long time no seeeeee! i misssed uuu”
jo was going around hugging and talking to his friends - they haven’t gathered together in what feels like an eternity, there was enough news to catch up on. by the minute more and more guests came, all showering harua with compliments and gifts, jo wasn’t an exception, he handed carefully wrapped pink gift to harua
“omg what’s in there?” asked the younger with sparkly eyes
“you have to see it for yourself” laughed jo, waiting for harua’s reaction
“are you for reallllll? my dream perfume? and wow what’s this cute thing? a bunny mug? ah! you always know what to gift!! thank you so much”
happily hugged jo and thanked him warmly once again.
as the party went on, jo played a few drinking games, chatted with his friends, the evening was going surprisingly well. jo even relaxed for a split second…
suddenly, he was pulled to the side by nicholas.
“bro!! you’ve gotta hear me out right now. i know i know you’ve said no to dating like ummm a thousand times already, but i promiiiise this one definitely deserves a shot!”
oh no. here we go again. jo gathered himself, preparing for this long discussion of nicholas pushing and jo declining. he’s scared. too scared. too real.
“i know what you want to say “nicholas we’ve done this let’s wrap it up”, just… hear me out! look, this place”
wang pointed at an instagram account opened on his phone of a cats cafe..? the hell? how is that even connected to jo’s absent dating experience… nonsense!
“this place see? i’ve sent it to you, please go there on tuesday or… maybe thursday, it will be so worth it, you’ll get it once you see yourself”
has he gone insane? what does all this mean? some cafe? tuesday? huh? cats?
“nicholas what do you mea-“
“next tuesday, 5 pm, this place. i’ll wait for you, just be there, you really don’t want to miss out on this “
weird. whatever. a cats cafe? well, maybe this one time, but only this once, jo won’t run away.