winter lovers | josuke/reader

winter lovers

A/N: I started this one shot at christmas time and never finished it because of the josuke/ghost but here it is!!! just some happy fluff yeehaw i know it's ssssssooooooo out of season but who gives a damn

Morioh seemed to glitter far more than any other city would in the wintertime. Fresh blankets of snow made for picturesque moments with loved ones, and carefully decorated store displays made people drool with materialistic desires. Children relished the winter air, especially when school was cancelled because of it. It was the holiday season, through and through. So why were you so bitter?

Josuke promised an exciting Christmas Eve date like all couples planned, and here you were, sulking behind the Kameyu fragrance counter with a grumpy glare that steered most shoppers away from you and towards your other sales associates. The part-time gig at the department store was unrewarding when it came to time off, particularly during the biggest spike of sales during the year. Bah Humbug wasn't enough to cover the animosity you felt towards the full-timers who had seniority and the fact that seniority even existed in corporate chains.

"[Name]... This isn't cool at all." Josuke leaned on the opposing side of the counter, one leg bent and the other outstretched. He was dressed cozily in a winter coat and mittens on his hands, not to forget the earmuffs hanging around his neck. You looked much more plain, with a Kameyu apron tied around your neck and waist over your regular clothes. There was no reason for you to look cute for a date that you couldn't even go on. Josuke would likely insist you looked cute no matter what you wore (and add silently, 'even wearing nothing at all' with an internal smirk).

"I don't control what days I get off," You grumbled, "And you don't even have to hang around here during my shift. Go do something with Okuyasu."

"I'm not taking him as a substitute for you on our super special Christmas date. We had this all planned out..." It was inconveniences like this that seemed to distance you from him the most. He wasn't a fussy person by any means, but when it came to spending time with you, any roadblocks along the way always put him in a sour mood. You shared the same disappointment, but he was far more childish about expressing it. This was the stubborn, loveable boy you'd fallen in love with in your last year of junior high. You had your lives to spend together, but that didn't resolve his impatience.

"I know we did. But I'm already here and working, so there's nothing we can do about it. Besides, some places will still be open when I get off." Just a four hour shift, four to eight. It'd certainly cut down the time you could spend in town with Josuke, but it was by no means the end of the world. "We could go to Tonio's. I think he's staying open later tonight."

"Yeah, but..."

"But nothing. No more complaining out of you. Not a peep, you hear me?"

He clicked his tongue against his teeth. "Sure, mom. Tonio's it is. We can exchange gifts while we're there."

"Speaking of gifts..." You leaned in closer to Josuke, whom was currently under the illusion that you would be giving him a Christmas kiss in the middle of Kameyu, an unsolicited warmth dusting his cheeks. "What'd you get me?"

"Ha!" Josuke jerked back after a slight delay in his movements, rather, a late reaction. You stood with your arms pressed against the glass countertop, while he fumbled about himself and ignored your pressure for eye contact. "It's a secret! Besides, the surprise makes a present even better. Especially yours."

You groaned mockingly. Certainly if you truly wanted to know beforehand, you would've made it a point to do so. His elaborate plans of a surprise were easy enough to catch on to, given his easily recognizable patterns of behavior. Moreover, he shouldn't have stepped a foot in Kameyu with the intentions to purchase your gift knowing you worked almost every night after school. Despite that fact, you were in the dark about what was bought, and Josuke planned to keep it that way until tonight. Nothing made you feel more guilty than the sad puppy look he would give you whenever you outsmarted him in any way. It was better to willingly stay ignorant.