Work Text:
“It was nice chatting with you, Ena-san. I apologize as I’m afraid I will have to take my leave now,” Toya took a slight bow as he stood up from the dining table.
Ena shook her head, “don’t be! It was nice chatting with you too, Toya-kun!”
She accompanied him to the main entrance to send him out. Just as Toya was about to slid on his shoes, Ena mindlessly muttered.
“You know… Akito gets mistreated in his workplace a lot,” she started, “he doesn’t tell me, but even an idiot will notice how messed up his face is whenever he comes home.”
Toya involuntarily thought back to Akito’s crash outs in the bar. Though he only saw it once, Mita did say he had those crash outs more frequent before they met…
Toya nodded, “I agree. But I don’t really understand how his workplace would mistreat him…” he trailed off.
And Ena unknowingly beamed at a thought.
“You should visit his workplace one day,” Ena let out a mischievous grin, “trust me, it’ll be fun.”
*
Toya decided to visit Akito’s workplace.
To be frank, it was really a spontaneous idea. The thought of visiting him did linger in his mind ever since Ena suggested it to him. But he never really thought to take action on such a thought. Until he received a text from Ena on a random Tuesday morning.
—
Shinonome Ena 11:42AM
toya-kun are you by any chance around the area?
Shinonome Ena 11:42AM
akito forgo t to bring his lunch this morning
do you want to help me pass it to him
currently in the midst of an art piece
cant be bothered to move
Aoyagi Toya 11:43AM
I will be happy to. Shall I pick the lunch box up from your place?
Shinonome Ena 11:45AM
thatll be great
thx!!
—
And that was how Toya found himself idly standing below Akito’s workplace’s building with a lunchbox in hand.
“That guy… he seems like a model?”
“He seems like he's meeting with someone… could it be his girlfriend?”
Hushed whispers were heard as Toya stood idly. He already informed Akito that he would be visiting—
—
Toya 11:46AM
You are still working, right?
You forgot your lunch box. Ena-san told me to pass it to you.
I’ll meet you at your office lobby at around 12:30PM?
Akito 12:02PM
…$/&:&1@1@&2?!
wat
Toya 12:03PM
?
Akito 12:03PM
ur visiting??????
Toya 12:04PM
Yes. Is there a problem?
Akito 12:04PM
no
Akito 12:09PM
give me a call when ur here
—
—and for some reason, Akito seemed really taken aback at his sudden visit.
Come to think of it, Akito did specify to give him a call when he reached. Just as Toya was about to dial his number…
“I will bet you 100 yen to get his LINE!”
“Hey… seriously?”
He heard some hushed snickering from his far left. It sounded like it was from two girls that worked here and were on their break. Wait a minute. A bet?
…what is this sense of deja vu?
The call picked up and that familiar voice that he loved could be heard close to his ear.
“Toya? You’re here?”
“Yeah. I’m in the lobby,” Toya smiled.
“Alright. I’ll be right there,” the muffled voice replied before a ‘click’ was heard.
“Em! Excuse me!!” A soft, shy voice was heard behind him as soon as the call cut off.
Toya spun around as he heard that voice. Behind him, a rather petite girl stared up at him — her face dusted in light pink as she darted her eyes around in an unfocused manner. Behind her, he could hear her friend snickering in excitement.
Ah. Was this the girl who accepted the bet to get his LINE?
As if confirming Toya’s hypothesis, the girl muttered out in a rather soft voice whilst fidgeting the hem of her skirt, “that… can we exchange our LINE?”
Oh. So he was right.
Truth to be told, this wasn’t Toya’s first time getting asked for this matter. No matter where he goes — whether it be in the bar or on the streets — he would always be stopped by a passerby to ask for his LINE.
And he chose to ignore them usually. Akito was his only exception.
But still, flat out ignoring her here didn’t feel right. Toya inwardly sighed before forcing out a smile, “sorry. But I’m not comfortable with sharing my contact.”
“Is that so…?” The girl muttered solemnly in a regretful tone.
Toya continued to smile at her — the kind of smile Akito would wear in any corporate setting.
A conversation he had with Akito came to mind.
“If your workplace treats you so bad, why do you still bother putting up a customer service front?”
“Figured that they will get less on my case if I give them a pleasant smile.”
Dang. Maybe Akito was rubbing on him more than he thought.
In an attempt to continue the dying conversation (which Toya had absolutely intended for it to die), the friend behind her spoke up, “uh! You don’t seem like you work here. So are you waiting for someone from this building?”
“Your girlfriend, perhaps?” The girl chimed in.
For some reason, the situation reminded Toya of the times during his post-classical competition parties — all he wanted to do now is turn his back on them and leave.
“I am,” he answered while making sure to keep it as short as possible. The strategy he used in those competition meet-ups or greeting people with his father.
One of the girls continued, “oh? So you have a girlfriend! May we know who? We work here too so maybe we can help call her down!”
‘Wow. They really are shameless.’ — is probably what Akito would say. And Toya could just hear him muttering that out loud if he were here. He wondered what Akito would do in this situation.
‘You should just tell them my name to get them to shut up. Otherwise, they might bother you to no end.’
That’s probably what Akito would want him to do. And he inwardly sighed.
He closed his eyes before mumbling, “I’m looking for Shinonome Akito. I already called him so everything is fine.”
A hushed whisper was heard among the two girls. Unfortunately for them, they were right in front of a professionally trained classical musician here. Of course he heard everything they were whispering to each other.
“No way? As in that Shinonome Akito?”
“I thought his entire department hated him… to think he was friends with such a pretty man like him…”
Toya frowned at this sight. Not only did the two girls shamelessly ask Toya about his personal business here, they even openly bad-mouthed about Akito right in front of him.
Suddenly, Toya understood why Akito would hate his workplace so much. He had already grown to resent this place despite being here for only 10 or so minutes. He doesn’t understand how Akito endured this place for so long.
The constant pressure of being put under his peers as well as dodging every act of hostility thrown to him… avoiding every judgemental gaze whilst enduring the talk behind his back…
It sounded exactly like those folks at his classical competition.
Toya seemed to learn more about Akito today. Maybe both of them weren’t so different after all.
*
“Hey Shinonome!” One of his coworkers greeted him in front of the lift. She was the office’s iconic star for she excelled in her work and had a pretty good-looking face. In other words, she’s the type of person who won’t bother an outcast like Akito.
So hold on.
“Uh,” Akito faltered at the sudden greeting, “hello,” he flashed her a forced smile as he tried his best to hide his unease.
“Going out for lunch?” She beamed. And Akito inwardly narrowed his eyes at her mannerism.
“Yeah,” he answered politely.
The woman idly twirled the end of her hair before asking, “are you perhaps seeing someone, Shinonome?”
…uhhhhhhhh what the fuc—
“Hah?” Akito almost dropped his ‘polite’ act as he stared directly at her. His cheeks dusted in a pink shade as he wonders what the fuck that question implied.
The woman looked back at him, “yeah? Like seeing someone for lunch.”
Oh. She meant it literally. And Akito nearly opted to leap down the building at his own stupidity.
Wait a minute. It was totally her fault for wording it like that, though?!
Akito swallowed a grumble as he nodded, “yeah. My… friend is here to pass me something.”
“Is that ‘friend’ of yours perhaps a two toned shaded blue-haired guy that looks like a model waiting at the lobby?” Her eyes sparkled. And Akito frowned at that.
She’s talking about Toya, isn’t she?
“What do you mean?” Akito forced out.
The woman started fidgeting her hands as she explained, “two of my friends are at the lobby waiting for me right now. They saw your friend and he explained that he was waiting for you.”
An unpleasant feeling boils within him — why the fuck are they bothering Toya? He promptly asked, “your point?”
The woman smiled, “I was thinking that all five of us can eat lunch together!”
Akito swallowed and masked his frustration with a smile, “that… I think it’s better if we ask him. I’m not sure whether he will be comfortable or not.”
With almost perfect timing, the lift reached their floor with a soft ‘ding!’. Akito entered the lift in a heartbeat followed by his stubborn coworker.
And his heart tightened at that.
*
Toya continued to idly scroll his phone.
The two girls remained by his side and he heard soft chattering. He tuned it out as long as the word ‘Akito’ wasn’t heard from their voices.
But strange. Why are they still waiting here? Could they be waiting for their friend as well?
“Yo, Toya!”
A familiar voice broke his train of thoughts. Toya turned his head away from his phone and nodded with an earnest smile.
“Your lunchbox,” he said as he gently raised it.
But his smile almost seemingly dropped at the sight of another girl following behind Akito.
The girl sped up her pacing and overtook Akito, “so you’re Toya-kun, huh? I don’t really see you around. Is it your first time here?”
Akito frowned at this sight.
‘Wow’ — was all Akito could think. It was so ridiculous to the point he doesn’t even know how to feel pissed about it. Just how far are these women willing to go if it meant to secure that man’s LINE??? Did they want to bag him so badly????
…not like Akito was one to talk. But he ignored that for now.
Under any normal circumstances, Toya would had politely declined and moved on with his day. He had accomplished his mission and successfully passed Akito his lunchbox. Rationally, he had nothing else to do here but take his leave.
But his gaze lingered towards a rather disturbed Akito and the 3 girls practically glued to his side.
Akito had done so much for him. He needed to pay him back, at the very least. Plus, the fact that it is these coworkers causing Akito’s utter misery still left a bitter distaste in Toya.
“Are you free now, Akito?” Toya asked with a hint of anticipation.
“Uh? Yeah,” Akito faltered at his sudden question but he had a hunch on where this conversation is leading towards, “I have lunch break until 2pm. Why?”
Toya tugged at Akito's arm which caused the shorter boy to jump slightly. The ginger-haired man locked eyes with the blue-haired man and let out a confused gaze.
The three girls flinched at this sight.
“I saw a cafe down the streets that looked really cool,” Toya explained, “let’s go there for lunch. The both of us.”
Did Toya just ask Akito out for a date in front of the 3 girls? The 3 girls who were trying so hard to set up a date with Toya himself, by the way!!! Akito stared at Toya dazedly.
His stubborn coworker managed to force out rather shamelessly, “can we join you, Toya-kun?” She let out a smile so sweet that Toya was absolutely sure it could rival any of Akito’s pancakes.
Unfortunately for her, Toya was never a big fan of sweet things from the get-go.
Akito stared at her shamelessness blankly and Toya simply beamed apologetically, “my sincere apologies. But I already have plans with Akito later. And also…”
The 3 girls looked at Toya with a false sense of anticipation.
“My name is Aoyagi Toya. I would appreciate it if you refer to me as Aoyagi, thank you.”
Before Akito could utter a word, Toya nudged and pulled him away from the scene — leaving the three girls rooted on their spot stunned.
“Dude… since when did you learn how to do that?” Akito muttered out rather stupidly. The Toya he knew was always kind and genuine. So this side of Toya is kind of…
“Learn to do what?” Toya blinked innocently, “I simply told them an objective truth. I invited you to lunch first, so I already have plans with you.”
“Yeah… but you invited me right in front of them…” and the words ‘it makes it seem like you deliberately rejected them right in front of their faces’ goes unsaid.
“I did. Is there a problem?” Toya casted him a confused gaze.
“Not really,” Akito blurted, “and correcting them to refer to you by your last name too is…” he couldn’t quite find the words to describe the situation just now.
Toya simply shrugged, “is there something wrong? I never met them nor did I gave a proper introduction. Plus, it took us roughly 3 months before going on a first name basis. They should know me at least that long before referring to me so casually.”
And Akito blankly stared.
Woah. Toya really seriously doesn’t know what he did back there. Or maybe he does — it’s just his innocent looking face looked so genuine he was convinced that he doesn’t know. And his rationale made sense. Akito inwardly shuddered at the thought of how menacing Toya could be without even trying.
And if Akito also found that hot, no one needed to know.
“The cafe should be about a 15 minute walk away… do you mind?” Toya informed as he rechecks the map on his phone.
“Uh. No. Let’s go,” Akito nodded before following him.
*
‘Ding!’
The bell resonated throughout the cafe signalizing the arrival of the two new guests. Just as Akito was about to book a booth…
“Yo!! If it isn’t ototou-kun!!”
Akito failed to hide his slacked jaw at the sight of the pink-haired girl. Her hair loosely tied into a small bun with a frizzy pink ribbon attached to it.
“Akiyama?!?!” Akito practically yelped loud enough to cause the nearby customers to flinch.
Mizuki beamed, “why? I can’t be here?”
“…no. But why the hell are you here?” Akito muttered out rather stupidly.
Before Mizuki could retort with something along the lines of ‘to eat duh?’, Toya interrupted.
“Akito. This is…?”
Mizuki let out a grin, “oya! You must be Toya-kun! I’m Akiyama Mizuki. Ena’s best friend!”
“You know me…?” Toya let out rather dumbfoundedly.
Mizuki beamed, “of course! Akito talks about you all the time—”
“I do not.”
“—and I’ve been dying to meet you!” She deliberately ignored Akito while approaching Toya to shake his hand, “thank you for taking care of ototou-kun by the way!!”
“Stop calling me that,” Akito grumbled, “for the last time, I’m not you lil’ bro!!”
“Whatever you say ototou-kun~” Mizuki hummed in a singsong tune to provoke Akito.
Toya lets out a smile at their dynamic. For some reason, Mizuki and Akito’s dynamic really resembled the Shinonome sibling’s dynamic. Both of them must have gotten along really well.
Most importantly, Akito seemed to be more comfortable with her — unlike the three girls just now.
“Would you like to join us, Akiyama?” Toya offered politely.
And Akito’s heart sank at that.
“If you really have no one… you could join us,” Akito muttered out politely. But it was true — if Mizuki was alone, he didn’t mind her joining them.
If anything, he rather Mizuki join them than those three girls at his workplace. He was way more comfortable with Mizuki anyway. He just thought it would be nice to have lunch with just Toya and only him. They never did this before, after all.
Mizuki unknowingly glanced between Akito (who failed to hide his solemn face) and Toya (who had an earnest smile) before sighing, “I’ll pass. I’m having lunch with someone else. She should be here any minute now.”
“Is that so?” Toya nodded, “understandable. It was nice meeting you, Akiyama.”
‘What a polite and nice man. How the hell did ototou-kun bag this???’
Mizuki wordlessly shook that thought away before humming in a sing-song tune, “it was nice meeting you too, Toya-kun! I’ll be at that table, so do call out to me if you need me.”
Toya gave an earnest nod, “I will take note of that. Maybe next time, Akiyama.”
“Right! Let's all have lunch together next time! I won’t disturb your cute little date anymore. Goodbye!” Mizuki beamed as she pretended to not understand the utter chaos she had just brought to the two guys.
“What the f—”
“Date…?”
Mizuki slipped between the two of them and headed towards her table. In the process, she leaned close into Akito’s ear and whispered with a hint of mischief before winking.
“Not bad — your boyfriend.”
“Akiyama I swear to fucking god—”
Mizuki laughed wholeheartedly as she left the two very flustered boys at the entrance of the cafe.
*
Akito stared at the menu rather wordlessly.
The food here was… good. Too good. He didn’t know what to pick. There was a variety of selections ranging from fluffy pancakes to a hearty big breakfast set. To be fair, he still had his lunchbox. But those were just sandwiches so he could always eat it later. Wait a minute, is it even healthy to eat pancakes for lunch?
Whatever. He might just get the fluffy pancakes and overly sweetened coffee to call it a day.
“Akito. I’m going to order first if that’s alright,” Toya announced as he closes the menu.
Akito snapped back to reality at his words, “ahh? Oh. Yea — sure,” he lets out sluggishly.
As Toya left to the counter, Akito was once again left with his own thoughts.
Those three girls just now… it wasn’t like they bugged him. But the entire situation definitely did. Come to think of it — even back at the bar, many people tried to approach Toya to talk to him.
It was natural. Toya had a pretty damn good looking face card and he came from a rich background. Not to mention, his soothing voice was one of the best sounds Akito had ever heard. Of course people will swarm around him!
…
An uneasy feeling washes down his body and he felt the bile in his stomach rising. An annoying ringing sound was buzzing in his ear. Cold sweat began racing down his forehead accompanied by a sudden spike in his heart rate. His breathing became more ragged causing him to subconsciously curl inwardly. He didn’t want to admit it but…
…but is he good enough to stand beside Toya?
*
‘Ototou-kun looks like he’s having period cramps.’
Mizuki stared unknowingly at Akito from her booth before chuckling at her own joke. Just as she was about to slip out her phone to snap a picture of his constipated look, she paused at Akito’s pale face.
Something isn’t right.
His expression darkened whilst his complexion became paler — as if he was drowning in some unwanted thoughts and couldn’t pull himself back up.
Mizuki swiftly picked up her teacup and stood up.
“Ayo ototou-kun! Have you decided what you want to eat?” Mizuki approached with a singsong voice — her hand swirling the cup of warm lemon tea.
“Akiyama…?” His face returned back to the normal expression so quick it was unsettling.
Ena was right. He buried his problems to himself a little too well — so well it was a little concerning.
She beamed, “the one and only!”
Akito grimaced, “why are you here…”
“I can’t see my favorite lil’ bro?? I’m hurt!” she dramatically acted offended as she slid down onto the chair opposite of Akito.
Akito cast a questioning gaze at her choice to join him even though she made it clear she wasn’t interested just now.
“So,” Mizuki placed her cup down and started, “what’s on your mind?”
“Hah???”
She explained, “you look like you have something going on…” — as if you spiraled into some sort of spring storm — “…wanna talk about it?”
‘Damn. Was it that obvious?’
Akito remained silent at her question.
“You know… nothing good will come out if you keep it to yourself like that,” she further urged, “I would know.”
And Akito blinked. If it’s Mizuki, maybe it’ll be alright… after all, she was the one that was there for his sister when he couldn’t. But can he really…?
‘He won’t budge huh…’ Mizuki inwardly thought before suggesting, “Let me guess! Is it about work? Or did Ena do something to piss you off?”
Akito’s face remained neutral as he averted his gaze.
“…or is it about Toya-kun?”
And Mizuki caught his eyes shaking just slightly.
‘Bingo!’
“So it is about Toya-kun,” Mizuki idly swirled her cup before suggesting, “what happened? Did you guys have a fight?” A pause, “did Toya-kun finally decide to dump you?” She ligtheartedly jested.
Akito’s eyes snapped at her last remark. He momentarily brought a hand to his face before muttering.
“…tell me honestly, Akiyama,” an uneasy feeling shuddered within Akito as he scooted closer towards Mizuki, “is Toya really out of my league???”
And Mizuki choked on her lemon tea.
…
Well that was a comforting reaction!
“What the fuck???” Akito cursed as he narrowly dodged her coughs.
That was supposed to be her reaction!! So the reason why her cute ototou-kun was as pale as paper and internally spiralling just now was because he was fussing over that?!?!
He was so pathetic she genuinely wanted to start sobbing.
“‘Way out of your league’ is an understatement, ototou-kun!” Mizuki hurriedly explained as she wiped the edges of her mouth with her palm, “when I just met him just now, I thought you must have annoyed him for 6 days straight for him to even begin talking to you!!”
Holy shit. Spot on.
Akito clicked his tongue in distaste. Ena and Mizuki’s sharpness when it comes to his relationships must be studied.
“But I think both of you are fine, ototou-kun.”
Akito eyed her unconvinced. Mizuki sighed to herself — oh god he really is blind — whilst staring at him pitifully.
“Toya-kun seems to like you a lot,” Mizuki explained.
“And how would you know…?” Akito muttered with uncertainty.
Mizuki simply gestured towards Toya who was approaching them with a gentle smile.
“Oh? Akiyama?”
“I’m having a chat with my favorite ototou-kun. Don’t mind me! I’ll be gone as soon as my friend comes!” Mizuki winked playfully.
Toya nodded, “Akito. I got you their signature pancakes and a cup of coffee,” Toya simply reported to him.
Akito faltered, “eh?? I never told you my order though…”
“I was afraid there wouldn’t be enough time if you ordered later so I helped you order. I remember you mentioning that you like the fluffy pancakes and made sure to add extra sugar into the coffee,” he smiled, “plus, your eyes were lingering on that page of the menu with the pancakes just now.”
And Toya was absolutely spot on with that order — because that’s exactly what Akito was considering to get.
“Order 301!” The worker called out with a tray on the self-service counter.
“I’ll go collect our order,” Toya informed before making his way back to the counter.
Akito’s head was in a daze as he watched Toya wait and collect their food.
Mizuki whistled, “see? He pays attention to your likes and he even knows your favorite order. Not to mention, I heard this place was famous for their extra fluffy pancakes. This place is not the closest cafe to your workplace, so he definitely picked this place on purpose.”
“Stop that…” Akito hid his flushed face before muttering, “it could be a complete coincidence. So what exactly is your point?”
Mizuki looked at him like he was stupid. No, he is stupid. And pathetic. And he was never going to live this down once they got together. She will make sure of that.
“Do I really need to spell it out for you?” Mizuki asked in between a teasing and a dumbfounded tone, “you’re truly a lucky man and already have it in the bag. Toya-kun likes you and that’s all it matters!”
Akito looked like he was having a hard time processing her words. And Mizuki simply sighed at that. She remembered a conversation she had with Ena not long ago when visiting her in her house…
“That Akito…” she grumbled as she continued to draw on her drawing pad.
“What did ototou-kun do this time?” Mizuki laughed as she tossed another snack into her mouth all while nesting comfortably on Ena’s bed.
Ena sighed, “that guy… he represses his emotions most of the time that it’s unsettling. He came back from work today obviously feeling like shit. I asked him what happened and he simply told me to mind my own business…”
“Dang. Sounds awfullyyyyy like someone…”
“Oi.”
Mizuki laughed as she dodged Ena’s punch.
Ena returned to her drawing position before continuing, “he always buries anything he doesn’t want people to know and he scarily does a good job at it. He only ever truly lets it show whenever he thinks he's all alone.”
Mizuki grew quiet at that. Choosing to deliberately hide your own insecurities in front of your loved ones… yeah, she thought she understood.
Ena sighed, “that’s why… if you ever see him on the verge of breaking, please help him.”
And Mizuki blinked at that. Of course she would help him even without Ena telling her. She may love to annoy him but she really truly does care about him. She wondered if he knew that — or even understood that. But still…
“Awwww look at our Enanan! She’s so worried about her little brother — how sweet!!”
Ena’s face burned bright red, “Mizuki…!!!!”
“It’s really cute!! Wait hey—!!! Ow ow ow!!! Hey wait no violence heyyy hold onnnn—!!!”
Really — Ena cares for her little brother so much it was endearing.
*
‘Ding!’
The doorbell chimed cheerfully and brought Mizuki out from her thoughts. A familiar face emerged from the entrance. Her purple hair tied neatly into a side ponytail as her dark purple eyes darted around the cafe in search of someone.
Hold on. Where has Akito seen her before?
“Mafuyu! Over here!!!” Mizuki called out and waved in a dramatic manner.
Her exaggerated actions successfully caught the woman’s attention as she approached the table. Her brows seemed to perk up as she noticed the presence of Akito.
“Hello. And you are?” Mafuyu turned to Akito and flashed him a polite smile.
“I’m Shinonome Akito. You must be one of Ena’s online group mates right? I’m sure I saw you in the passing,” Akito beamed with his customer service smile plastered on his face as if he wasn’t just having a crisis a few moments ago.
“We have?”
“Right outside the mall the other day. I bumped into Ena at the store. I think she was shopping with you all,” Akito reminded her.
“Oh! I’m terribly sorry I couldn’t greet you that time,” Mafuyu muttered in an apologetic tone and bowed slightly before smiling, “my name is Asahina Mafuyu. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
“Likewise,” Akito replied with a grin as he gently shook her hand.
And Mizuki shuddered at this absurd sight.
“Customer service act vs good girl act… this is another thing to tell Enanan…” she muttered in a whisper as she slipped out her phone.
Akito quietly casted her a gaze — ‘what’s that supposed to mean??’ — before returning to his customer service act, “well, I already have a lunch mate so I will catch you around?”
Mafuyu nodded, “we won’t bother you any longer. Hope to catch you around.”
Mizuki didn't miss the cue and abruptly stood up, “right! Let’s go Mafuyu!! We shouldn’t interrupt ototou-kun’s date!!”
“Akiyama…”
Mizuki swiftly dodged Akito’s piercing gaze as she pulled Mafuyu back to her own booth. Damn, even his annoyed gaze resembled a lot like Ena — she made sure to take a mental note of this.
Just as she was pulling Mafuyu to leave, she caught Akito mouthing something to her.
‘Thank you.’
She returned his thanks with a simple smile. Somehow, his complexion looked better than before — and she was utterly glad she was able to be of help.
*
“Mizuki told me what happened by the way,” Ena informed (not like Akito couldn’t guess), “hope you enjoyed your little date.”
But it looked like she omitted the part about his internal spiral. And he was utterly glad she did.
“What the… why did it sound like you planned this?” Akito frowned as an ominous feeling washed down on him.
Ena simply shrugged, “I expected him to eat lunch with you but inviting you out to a cafe when you already clearly have your own lunchbox already??? Such a bold yet proactive move. I applaud that!”
“So you were the one that requested Toya to hand me my lunchbox?” Akito connected the dots in disbelief.
Ena frowned, “don’t act like you didn’t like it.”
“Hey—!!”
“But yeah, I did,” she admitted loudly and proudly.
“Was this Akiyama’s idea…”
“Why do you naturally assume it’s Mizuki’s idea?!” Ena snapped, “I mean, it was originally mine. But I pitched it to Mizuki and she supported the idea! It was really a damn coincidence that both of you met in the cafe!!”
“Akiyama sure is rubbing on you a lot…”
“What’s that supposed to mean?!”
Akito skillfully dodged a pillow that she had thrown towards him. Ena rolled her eyes at this before gesturing to him to leave, “shoo shoo — I want to work on my art piece now. Get out of my room.”
Akito nodded before reaching for her door — not like he wanted to stay here. But as his hand reached for the door knob, he snuck a glance at Ena who was powering her tablet on.
“…thank you.”
Ena flinched before casting him a face filled with doubt, “what was that…?”
Akito simply shrugged, “whatever. I’ll be heading out to grab something from the convenience store.”
“Can you help me get a snack or something then?” Ena requested.
“Hell no. Why should I??”
“Fuck you!!”
That night, Ena entered the kitchen only to find a plate of donuts left on the counter. Her mother informed her that Akito had gone out and came back with this earlier — saying it was for her.
Whether it was a token of appreciation or not, only Akito would know.
*
Ever since then, there has been a rumor circulating within the walls of the office.
It was said that a certain blue-haired pretty man will visit the office without fail every afternoon. He would always meet with a certain ginger from the office. Both of them will disappear for the rest of lunch hours.
Some speculate they were roommates. Some claim that they were childhood friends. Wilder versions of the story stated that they were more than just friends.
But not that Akito personally cared. Nor did Toya.
“Yo Toya,” Akito called out naturally when he saw the neatly dressed blue-haired man standing idly in the lobby.
Since when did it start? Lunch breaks with Toya became a norm between them. Toya will be in the lobby waiting while Akito will clock out of the office on time for his lunch.
The taller man turned away from his phone and smiled at the sight of the shorter.
“I saw a newly opened Mexican store down the street. Shall we try that out?”
“Aight,” Akito beamed.
He wondered just what if he attended the same high school with Toya. Would they be going out for lunch together as well? Instead, maybe Akito could be the one to initiate these lunch meet-ups.
He would leave class immediately after the lunch bell signaled. He would wait outside Toya’s class while watching Toya tidy the rest of his remaining notes from the class. He would enter Toya’s class once the teacher leaves as if he was from that class himself.
“Akito?”
“Let’s go,” he smiled at that thought.
*
(Bonus)
“Let me get this straight—“ Ena sighed in frustration while pinching the bridge of her nose, “—you and Toya-kun had been on little lunch dates every day no matter sun or rain since… 3 months ago???”
“So what?” Akito grumbled before stuffing another mouthful of pancakes.
“And then you both still meet at the bar at night????” She further confirmed.
Akito frowned, “is there a problem???”
Ena stared at him dumbfoundedly, “yes!! Are you absolutely completely sure both of you aren’t dating??”
“What the fuck???????” He almost snorted out his pancakes, “can’t this all be like a dude thing???”
“Look me in the eye and swear on your pancakes that you only see Toya-kun as your dude or whatever you described it,” Ena straightened her back while staring straight into Akito’s soul.
Akito frowned at her, “hah?? You’re not making any sense!”
“You didn’t swear it!!! Why? You're scared?? Or is it because I just said the truth and you don’t want to admit it?!” Ena exclaimed as she further provoked him.
Akito squirmed as he heard Mizuki’s heartfelt laugh from beside Ena.
“Ototou-kun, you're in some wild situationship!!” Mizuki exclaimed out loud as she wiped away her tears of laughter.
“I’m fucking not????”
“Oh my god he’s hopeless…”
“Akiyama..!!!!”