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All good love stories begin with a fateful encounter.
Otoya knows this, because it’s an epiphany that strikes him on a late Thursday afternoon when he’s tucked away in his own little corner of the school library, soaking in the sun-rays that permeate through the windows like an oversized cat.
—Literally.
He bolts up, ramrod straight from the impact. Sleep dissolves from his body as quickly as it’s chased away by the dull pain throbbing in the back of his head, something that, notably, wasn’t there when he took a nap fifteen minutes ago.
Next to him, someone’s throat clears.
His hand falls from where it’s rubbing his bruise as he turns to squint at his mystery attacker. Annoyance surges in his chest, but before it’s given the chance to properly fester Otoya makes the horrible mistake of looking up and getting swept away into a sea of blue.
The boy standing in front of him is frowning, though Otoya didn’t really understand why. His face was way too gorgeous to be wasted on a frown. He had a jawline so sharp that Otoya felt certain he could cut himself against it, and a beauty mark that was practically begging to be framed and hung in a museum. The knitted cardigan he wore felt unexpectedly nerdy for someone with such a muscular frame, but at the same time fitting for a librarian.
“Are you an angel?” He blurts out before he can stop himself.
Evidently, it was the wrong thing to say because his angel’s face immediately twists into a scowl.
“Are ya an idiot?” He asks, Kansai accent thick with annoyance. Otoya could swoon. “I don’t think I hit ya that hard.”
Otoya’s gaze drifts down to the rolled-up magazine still in his hand. Ah. So that’s what it was.
“I’m not an idiot.” He replies simply. “But you can call me yours, if you want.” He ends with a flirtatious wink that usually guaranteed girls falling over their feet for him.
“Get out.” The angel deadpans.
“Wait, what? I’m sorry, I didn’t mean tha—”
“No. I mean I’m literally tellin’ ya ta get out.” The angel crosses his arms with an unimpressed expression. “We’re closing soon.”
They were? Otoya twists his head so he can look around at the now-empty library. He knew he was a heavy sleeper, but had he really slept through everyone else packing up their things and leaving?
(He cringes slightly, sincerely hoping the other boy hadn’t seen him drool during his nap.)
He grabs his jacket and gets up to leave, pleasantly surprised to discover in the process that his library angel was taller than him.
It was kind of hot, actually.
“Sorry about that.” He tilts his head, lashes fluttering and green eyes deceptively cat-like as he peers up at him, utterly shameless in his flirting now. “I’ll see you around.”
Mr library angel—AKA his one true love, the man of his dreams, his future husband and father of his children etc., etc.—quickly averts his gaze.
“I hope not.” He grumbles under his breath, but Otoya isn’t blind enough to miss the beginnings of a blush creeping its way up his cheeks. Nor does he miss the nametag pinned to his cardigan, near-inconspicuous as he walks past him on the way to the exit.
Karasu.
Otoya smiles to himself.
Yeah, he was definitely paying another visit to the library soon.
✎✐ ✎ ✐ ✎ ✐
“Yo. I’d like to borrow this.”
Karasu takes the book from him with little more than a glance in his direction.
“How to tell if my daughter is getting her period." He reads the title aloud, slowly looking up so he can stare Otoya dead in the eye. "An 8-step guide for single fathers.”
Otoya shoves his hands into his pockets and shrugs. “I heard it’s a real page-turner.”
Karasu lets out a long-suffering sigh and gestures for him to hand over his student ID so they can get this over with. Otoya tries to suppress the shock of electricity he feels when their fingers brush on accident.
After a few seconds of typing, Karasu pauses what he’s doing to squint at what Otoya presumes is his library record on the screen.
“...Have ya seriously never borrowed a book before?” He asks in disbelief.
“What can I say?” Otoya practically purrs as he leans against the counter. “I never had a good reason to come here until now.”
“Yer grades weren’t a good enough reason?” Karasu asks bluntly.
“That’s not the point. Hey, speaking of checking things out, when does your shift end?”
Karasu all but slams the book into his hands. “Return this by next week or don’t, I don’t care if ya get fined. Next person, please.”
“Ouch.” He feigns hurt. “So cold, Karasu.”
There’s the ghost of a smirk lingering on Karasu’s face when he hands over his ID, and this time Otoya swears he isn’t imagining the sparks flying between them.
“Have fun reading, Otoya.”
(On that day, Otoya learns how useful books are for a variety of things, like increasing your knowledge, expanding your worldview, reducing your stress and, of course, the classic: fanning yourself furiously as you speedwalk out of the library with your heart beating like crazy and multiple people staring at you weirdly.)
✎✐ ✎ ✐ ✎ ✐
“Oh. It’s ya again.”
“Would it kill you to sound a little more excited?” Otoya muses, propping his weight up against a shelf.
“Don't lean against that.” Karasu snaps. Otoya immediately complies because the book in his hands somehow looked heavy enough to hurt yet light enough to throw.
Satisfied, he goes back to whatever he was doing in the first place, pulling books from the trolley beside him and arranging them neatly on the shelves. “What are ya doing here anyway?”
“I finished my run and thought I’d leech off your air-conditioning.” Otoya says, secretly enraptured by the way his biceps strain against his sleeve every time he reaches for the top shelf.
Karasu hums in response. Thoughtful blue eyes trail down the tight compression shirt he’s wearing and the beads of sweat still plastered to his forehead. A noise that sounds almost like approval slips past his lips.
“At least yer honest.”
“That’s me. An honest, well-meaning guy. No ulterior motives whatsoever.”
Karasu snorts. “Forgive me if I find that a little hard ta believe.”
“That’s because you’re clouded by judgement.” Otoya replies solemnly. “If you let me help you out, you’ll see I’m great boyfriend material.”
“No ulterior motives, my ass.” Karasu mutters under his breath, but there’s a smile tugging at his lips. “Fine. If ya want to make yerself useful so bad, go and arrange the books there alphabetically.”
Otoya mock-salutes. “Aye aye, captain.”
They set off to work together in surprisingly comfortable silence. Surprising, because they were still strangers by most standards no matter how Otoya and his general air of nonchalance acted otherwise.
He breaks the silence first. “So, what do you like most about being a librarian?”
“The perks.” Karasu answers without a hitch. “I get extra marks and a private room ta study in when it gets too crowded during exam season.”
Otoya doesn’t mention that he’s never sought the library for anything other than a cozy place to nap in. “Sounds like a sweet deal.”
“It is.” Karasu affirms. “Plus, it helps that I enjoy the work. Stuff like this,” He gestures to the pile of books that haven't been sorted yet. “It’s methodical. Everything has an order and it just makes sense.”
He hesitates slightly before continuing. “I know other people might find it weird. But it’s calming to me, at least.”
Otoya thinks it over.
“I get it.” He says after a while, causing Karasu to look up in shock. “I mean, not like this is really my thing. But I see where you’re coming from. It’s kinda like how I still choose Princess Peach even though my roommate kicks my ass every time. Why switch up routine, you know what I mean?”
A short pause stretches between them as Karasu stares at him, dumbfounded. And then out of nowhere, a genuine laugh bubbles from his throat.
“That’s a shit comparison.” He wheezes, wiping a tear away.
“I know.” Otoya smiles, not nearly as offended as he should be. Granted, it was hard to stay mad when the other boy’s laughter was still ringing clearly in his head.
The corners of Karasu’s lips twitch upwards, and at the fondness in his eyes Otoya can’t help but make the connection to gleaming sapphires.
“Ya really are one of a kind.”
✎✐ ✎ ✐ ✎ ✐
The next time they meet, it’s in Otoya’s classroom of all places.
He blinks in surprise when Karasu appears out of nowhere to corner him in the doorway, drawing curious whispers from passing students.
“So forward?” Otoya arches a brow. “You know, if you wanted a date so badly you could’ve sent me a text first.”
Karasu’s eyes roll so far back that he’s surprised they haven’t fallen out of his head yet. “How could I? I don’t even have yer number, genius.”
“We could always fix that.” Otoya smirks, pulling out his phone.
“Shut up. No. That’s not—no. Shut up.” Karasu groans. Otoya has never seen him so worked up before. It was kind of cute, actually. “Yer so infuriating.”
“Thanks, it’s part of my charm.”
“Stop talking and just explain this.” Karasu sighs, holding up a piece of paper that had gone unnoticed up until now.
“Oh, that? It’s my librarian application form.”
“I’m aware.” Karasu says pointedly. “What I wanna know is why yer even applying in the first place. Last I checked, yer grades are less than stellar and yer not exactly librarian material.”
Otoya perks up a little bit.
“You stalked me?”
The taller boy splutters. “What? No, I did research, dumbass.”
“Yeah, on me.” He preens.
“It’s literally my job.” Karasu hisses. “I’m supposed to go through applications and see if they’re qualified.”
“And are you cornering every other applicant like this?” Otoya counters, a lazy smile on his face. “Or is this an exclusive interview between the two of us?”
The shade of pink Karasu turns is just about enough to make his entire day.
“I just seriously doubt ya have any real interest in being a librarian, that’s all.” He mutters.
“I’m hurt, Karasu.” Otoya presses a hand over his chest in mock-offence. “You of all people should know not to judge a book by its cover. What if I have some secret passion for librarian-ing? What if sorting books is my lifelong dream?”
Karasu still looked unimpressed.
“What’s the Dewey Decimal System for?”
Otoya stares at him blankly.
“Don't decimals have something to do with math…?”
Karasu lets out a long-suffering sigh. “Application rejected.”
“Wait, that’s not fair. Let me try again.” Otoya whines, clasping his hands together. “Come on, man. I’ll woo you with my kickass librarian knowledge, I swear. Just one more chance.”
“Don’t ya get it, asshole?” Karasu glares at him, but there’s no real heat behind it. “I’m telling ya that ya don’t…have ta be a librarian to come and visit.”
The gears in Otoya’s head click into place at the exact same time regret washes over Karasu’s reddening features.
“So you do like me—”
“—Nope, not dealing with this.” Karasu says stiffly, turning on his heels and leaving. “Conversation over. Goodbye.”
(And though Otoya hated to see him leave, he'll be damned if he doesn't love to watch him go.)
✎✐ ✎ ✐ ✎ ✐
“I’m telling you, Yukki. We’re going to have five cats and an apartment in Tokyo, he just doesn’t know it yet.”
“I always knew you were impulsive,” The model smiles, bordering on sympathetic. “But never this delusional.”
“Rude.” Otoya pouts. “See if I make you best man at our wedding.”
“How about we focus on graduating first?” Yukimiya laughs, turning his back to browse the literature section. It gives Otoya the perfect opportunity to tackle him from behind.
“Eita, this is a library!” Yukimiya yelps, struggling against him. It wasn’t like he couldn’t throw him off easily, but he had to be mindful of their surroundings—something Otoya clearly wasn’t too worried about. In the end though, he succeeds in pinning the shorter boy’s wrists and looking down at him with the most annoyed glare he can muster.
Just in time for footsteps to approach.
“What the fuck is happening here—oh.”
For being the only librarian, Karasu looks comically out of place as he comes striding into the aisle. His eyes dart between the two of them, taking note of the suspiciously secluded corner and their own disheveled appearances. The model’s glasses were knocked askew, a light shade of pink still dusted Otoya’s cheeks from all the exertion and Yukimiya’s hands, once ice-cold, now seemed to burn into his wrists.
Karasu’s jaw ticks.
“If ya want ta make out so badly, the exit is that way.” He says through gritted teeth, voice pulled taut like a string bound to snap. Otoya honestly would’ve preferred if he’d yelled at them, but Karasu doesn’t do anything except walk away. He doesn’t even look back at him.
Yukimiya lets out a low whistle.
“I’ll admit, I was wrong. You do have a chance after all.”
“What?”
Yukimiya’s lips curl. “Eita, he was obviously jealous. And he wouldn’t be jealous if he didn’t like you at least a little bit.”
“He looked more pissed to me than anything else.” Otoya says dubiously.
“So don’t waste any more time.” Yukimiya nudges him gently. “Go after him. Tell him it was all a misunderstanding. Karasu-kun looks like a rational guy. I think he’ll hear you out.”
“You know what? I think you’re right.” Otoya nods slowly. “Why don’t I listen to you more often?”
Yukimiya rolls his eyes fondly. “Shut up and go chase the man of your dreams.”
“I’m definitely making you best man after this.” Otoya grins, and then he’s off.
Catching up to him proved easier than expected. For a guy angrily storming off, Karasu sure moved like a grandma.
“Karasu, wait!” Otoya calls out. “It’s not what you think!”
All it gets him is a nasty glare in return.
“And how many times have ya spouted that shitty line before?”
He skids to a stop in front of him, raising both hands in surrender.
“Let’s not bring up my exes.” He says solemnly. “But it’s true this time, I swear. Yukki and I are just friends.”
No reply.
“If it makes you feel better, we were just fighting.”
This time, Karasu’s anger gives way to pure disbelief.
“Ya were fighting in the library?”
Otoya backtracks. “Uh, okay. So that didn’t make you feel better. Whoops. Ignore what I said. But you were really angry back there. Almost like you didn’t want me to be kissing Yukki.” He cocks his head. “Do you like me?”
“Yer unbelievable.” Karasu shakes his head, incredulous. “Where do ya get that confidence from?”
“You’re not denying it.” He points out.
Karasu falls silent, lips pressed into a thin line. His cheeks tinge red, and Otoya is hopelessly reminded of the first day they met.
Oh, library angel. Never change.
He smiles. “I like you too. Wanna get coffee sometime?”
“That’s a shit confession.” Karasu murmurs, but the harsh lines of his face have softened out.
“I’m usually way cooler than this, promise. You just have that effect on me.”
Karasu hums and turns his attention to a trolley parked nearby. He plucks a book out and before Otoya can process what’s happening, it’s being shoved against his chest.
“That’s yer answer.” Karasu grins, a wicked glint in his dark blue eyes as he walks away. Otoya is left to stare dumbly at his retreating back before he snaps back to reality and looks down at the title.
Romance for Dummies: How to Get the Guy
(Needless to say, he gets his date in the end. And many, many more after that.)