Chapter Text
Your job as an accountant was something you could never get tired of; keeping things organized and taking note of transactions and accounts was always something you enjoyed.
But if there was one thing you hated, it was your co-workers.
Among the employees in the office, you were arguably one of the best out there. And because you were so good at the job, you often found yourself sitting in front of stacks upon stacks of papers hundreds of emails in your inbox, and onboarding sessions for new hires that you held twice a week.
But they weren’t your own piles of work— they were all from your lazy officemates who couldn't bother do it themselves; the onboarding sessions were the only things that didn’t come from them.
Most of the time, you could easily deal with the extra workload. But whenever deadlines were nearing, that's when people really showed no hesitation nor shame with making you do their work. Your struggle was evident during moments like these.
What made it even worse was that your manager didn't care one bit about your situation, and your CEO is incredibly hard to contact, so there really wasn't anything you could do about it.
It was Friday 6:00 pm, and despite the extra work, you managed to finish on your usual time. A giddy smile formed on your face as you shut down your computer and reached for your bag on the floor to pack your belongings.
But before you could place your bag on the desk, a huge stack of papers landed on your table creating a loud thud.
"Oh, I'm sorry... Looks like I dropped something here, didn't I?" Doma chuckled, covering his mouth with his hand. He was one of your coworkers who would often dump their work onto you.
"Sorry about that, I've got a date with some chick later tonight, think you could take this over for me? Thaaanks!" He continued as he tousled your hair and dashed away toward the elevator.
"Wait-" The elevator doors were already closed. Defeated, you leaned back on your chair and let out an exasperated sigh. "That little..."
You were left with even more piles of work to be done;
And there was nothing you could do about it.
About two hours had passed, and you finally finished the extra work Doma gave you.
"Finally, that took forever!" You stretched your sore arms out in the air, and began packing your things in your cat bag it and cleaning your desk.
As you stood up from your workspace, you saw that the elevator was about to close.
There was absolutely no way you were going to miss the elevator after having to work overtime, and also because you were on the 34th floor, so it would take at least 10 minutes before it’d make its way back up there.
“Wait, hold the door please!” Your legs sprinted as fast as they could and you prayed that you'd make it in time.
Unfortunately, nobody was considerate enough to hold the doors open. The elevator closed right in front of you and began making its way down.
It was official; today was definitely the worst day ever.
Everyone else in the area had already left save for you, so it was a bit scary being alone. You sat down on the carpet floor and took your phone out.
3 new messages: Kochou Shinobu
"Shinobu? Shouldn't she be at work right now?" You asked yourself as you unlocked your phone and opened your conversation with Shinobu.
Caterpillar
(Y/N)! Today's my day off. Plus, it’s a Friday. Would you like to get a drink later at the usual place? I won’t be drinking any alcohol tonight though.
6:32 pm
Hello? You doing okay there? It's unlike you to not reply immediately. That is, unless you're working, of course. You always were the diligent individual, after all.
6:58 pm
I'm guessing it's overtime. Message me once you're done! I should be free the rest of the night. I’ll be waiting, good luck over there~
7:01 pm
You chuckled after reading Shinobu's messages. The two of you have been best friends ever since high school where you met at a flower-sorting club, and she knew you all too well, from how fast you'd reply to messages to your working habits.
Even though you went your separate ways in college with you taking on accountancy and Shinobu medicine, you still managed to keep in touch and hung out whenever you got the chance.
"A drink? Well, I guess it's not too bad," you said as you checked the elevator to see what floor it was on. It was now going up, but still pretty far from the 34th.
You
HI OH MY GOSH so sorry i rpelid just now
yea it was ovetirme lmao u knwo me too well
and SURE im donw fro a drink, be tehre in like 10 minutes
8:14 pm
The sound of the elevator door opening startled you, but you immediately hopped onto the lift, clicking the button to the ground floor. You hummed a tune to pass time as the elevator descended.
Yours and Shinobu’s meeting place wasn’t too far from your office; it was a small bar two blocks away from it. The two of you preferred drinking there since it was calmer compared to other places.
After a few minutes of walking, you finally reached the bar. You were greeted with warm welcomes from the people running the place accompanied by the hollers of some who were already drunk. You spotted Shinobu sitting in the corner of the place.
“Y/N! You finally made it,” Shinobu cheered, clapping her hands together. She already had a cup of tea in front of her, and a bottle of beer and a mug ready for you.
“Sorry if I took a while…” You took a seat across Shinobu, pouring beer into your glass and taking a big, hearty gulp from the mug. “Coworkers are shitty as per usual.”
Shinobu took a sip from her tea. “Tell me about it,”
The two of you continued talking while taking occasional sips from your drinks; and it wasn’t long before you started getting woozy.
“There was this one time, someone arrived at the ER with a carrot stuck inside him.” Shinobu said, dabbing the side of her mouth with a handkerchief.
You slammed your mug onto the table. “No way.”
“It’s true. And it wasn’t exactly the first time something like that’s happened.”
A resounding laugh escaped your lips but was soon cut by a hearty gulp of beer. “What did they look like?”
“Well, he had shoulder-length blonde hair and these rainbow-colored irises. He was quite odd; not because of his appearance, but because he was completely unaffected by the carrot inside him. That’s what really weirded me out.” Shinobu said, resting her head on her hand.
You spit out your drink, making a huge mess of the floor. “Did… Did you say rainbow eyes?” You asked, a bit of a slur in your voice. Shinobu nodded in response.
“Dude… That’s my officemate, Doma— You know, the bitch that keeps piling his work onto me!”
“Is he now? Oh my…” Shinobu mused, rubbing her chin as she thought deeply. “Next time he tries tossing his work onto you, you could bring up the whole carrot fiasco to save you from it~” She snickered as a sly grin crept up her face.
“Shinobu!” You shrieked, both amused and appalled at your friend’s suggestion. Though the you wouldn’t deny that you were definitely more amused by it.
The both of you found yourselves giggling mischievously. A foam mustache formed on your face which made the two of you sink deeper into the laughter.
But then, Shinobu’s phone started ringing, ceasing what seemed like endless laughing. “Y/N, let me just take this call,” Shinobu picked up the call and put the phone to her ear.
“Hello? Something came up at the ER? Oh dear… Is that the case? I see. I’ll get there as soon as possible; thanks for notifying me.”
“What’s that about? Another fucker with a veggie up their ass?” You asked as you watched her put her phone back in her bag.
“Not this time, no.” Shinobu chuckled. “But Y/N, I’m afraid I have to leave early, it’s something urgent… I hope you don’t mind. You can call Kanae to drive you home if you can’t take the train, alright? I’m sure big sis would be more than willing to.”
“Awww, come on Shinobu— I bet it’s not that urgent!” You exclaimed, blowing bubbles into your beer with a straw.
Shinobu let out a sigh. “Well, I’m sure my co-workers wouldn’t lie to me about things like these. Anyway, don’t cause too much trouble for the owners or the other customers, okay? Take care~” she said, waving her hand goodbye and making her way out the bar.
You sat there in silence for a few minutes with your head hung low. After a bit, you raised your hand to get the owner’s attention.
“5 more bottles please!”
You so badly wanted to forget the stress of work. Plus, there wasn’t anything to lose the next day. While yes, you would wake up with a massive hangover, you honestly would rather experience that over having to do your officemates work.
Or would you?
A bartender soon arrived with an ice bucket filled with your order of 5 beer bottles, and your flushed face beamed with glee upon seeing it. You popped the bottlecap off of one and poured some beer into your mug.
“I’m gonna get REAL drunk tonight!” You cheered. “And most importantly… SCREW MY OFFICE MATES!”
On the occasion that you would end up downing multiple bottles of beer in one sitting, Shinobu would always be there to keep you grounded. However, she wasn’t with you right now.
And while she reminded you not to cause any trouble for the owners or for other customers, there you were, hopping from table to table to chat with the others.
Some were so weirded out they ignored you and your drunk antics, while those who were also drunk were talking with you as if you were long time pals. You also snapped a few pictures with the other drunkards.
You bid your farewells to a table and took a seat in the next one. You had a bit of trouble making out what was in front of you since your vision was getting really hazy, but there was no doubt that the person before you was an absolute giant.
“Woaaah, you’re huuuuge!” You chuckled, your eyes scanning the individual in front of you. “Are you a bear? You’re way too big to be a human! I bet your dick is huge. Hey boss man, did you guys let a bear in the place? That’s insaaaaaaane!”
“Ah,” a deep, firm voice spoke, making you jump in your seat. He put his hands together in prayer, and you noticed that he was carrying these large, red beads.
“It seems that you’ve had quite a lot to drink tonight, no?” He rubbed his hands up and down, the prayer beads clinking together from the movement.
All the alcohol was getting to your brain, and it for sure short circuited because you asked one of the most preposterous questions you could to anyone ever.
“Are you carrying anal beads?”
His glassy eyes widened from your question. “I beg your pardon?”
“Come on, don’t play dumb now!” You exclaimed as you leaned forward to deliver a light, playful punch to his arm. “Those beads you’re carrying! Quite the kinky fucker you are… You’re not ashamed to show to the world the kinda stuff you’re into, huh? I like thaaat!”
You took out your phone to get a snap with the guy and flashed a toothy grin for the camera. He, on the other hand, retained his stone-cold expression.
The hulking man put his hands down on the table. “It seems that you are mistaken. These are prayer beads I’m carrying.” He continued and took a sip from his tea. He seemed unfazed from your sacrilegious comments.
You took a large gulp from your beer and slammed it onto the table. “Hah, lie all you want, good sir; there’s no fooling me! I know when someone’s tellin’ the truth or spewing pure bullshit!” You exclaimed, pointing a finger at the man’s face who listened to you with utter confusion.
“You know, cuz… My officemates!” You got on the table and went up so close to the man that your noses were touching.
“Those lazy little fucks keep on giving me their work! Like, I’ve already got so much shit to handle like filling up account journals for clients… And holding onboarding sessions! Like yeah, I love my job and keepin’ things clean but can’t I get a breather for once?!”
The man was too stunned to speak. There was a short, awkward silence between the two of you as you chugged down the remaining alcohol in your mug.
“Hm… Have you tried filing a complaint to your manager or the CEO?” The man asked, his voice calm and soft unlike yours.
“Oh please, don’t get me started on my fuckin’ manager,” you said, waving a hand to brush off his suggestion.
“I’ve tried multiple times, but my co-workers always find a way to convince him otherwise; it’s pointless! And I doubt my CEO would listen, she’s always so busy spearheading the company and going on business trips and shit that she’d probably respond in like, 60 business days.”
Your face was red and fuming with rage; you never thought that this little drinking session Shinobu invited you to would end up with you ranting about work to a complete stranger.
“Ah, I see.” He said, putting his hand together in prayer. “What a pitiful human you are, I grieve for your situation. I pray it improves someday. Namu amida butsu…”
You watched him as he sat in fervent prayer in solitude. It was weird, honestly, seeing such a religious man in a bar like this.
“Hey, what’s a guy like you doin’ in a place like this?” Your drunken eyes were fixed on the man before you.
“I usually brew my own tea at home, but I unfortunately ran out of tea leaves today. I saw someone advertising this place, so I decided to have my nightly tea here. Thankfully, it’s just as refreshing.”
His voice was deep, full, and intimidating, yet at the same time… Soothing. You could listen to him talk for hours on end without getting tired of it.
Absolutely drunk and wanting to know more about this peculiar man, you thought that it wouldn’t hurt to stay at this table a bit longer before hopping to another one.
“You like pussy?” You asked, an eyebrow perched up in curiosity.
The man choked on his tea upon hearing your question. “I’m sorry… What was that?”
“Cats. Four legs, ears and all that shit.”
You swore you saw his face light up once you mentioned cats. He nodded in response and a small smile grew on his stony face.
“Why, yes. I actually two ragdoll cats named Yuichiro and Muichiro back at home. They’re twins but are very different from each other,” The man put his hands in prayer once more.
“Yui is feisty and picks fights with Mui often, while Mui is affectionate and very clingy.” The man’s smile was small but so full of mirth; he truly loved his pets dearly.
You chuckled at the excitement in his tone when he was talking about his cats. He, however, grew concerned at your response.
“Is there something wrong about what I said?” He asked, his eyebrows furrowed with worry and tears welling up in his glassy eyes.
“Nah, don’t sweat it, big guy! Your cats sound really cute.” You took another large gulp from your beer before continuing. “I’ve got one, too. Named him Kyo cause he’s… Orange like an apricot. He’s a real loud kitty, eats a fuck ton of food and never gains weight. Wish I could say the same for myself.”
His worry washed away instantly and he chuckled with relief. “I see; that is quite the adorable name you’ve given him.”
You thought that drinking until you blacked out would help you forget the stress of work, but you were already on your sixth bottle and it didn’t help one bit.
Yet... Simply talking to this huge, intimidating man put you so much more at ease than any amount of alcohol ever could. You wanted to keep the conversation going. No, what you desired was more than that—
You wanted to get to know him even more.
“Hey—”
The man’s phone began ringing, and he picked up the call. The phone looked so small in his hands.
He only replied with deep and soft hums. The call soon ended, and he placed his phone back in his pocket.
“It appears that I must go, I was called to help prepare for an event tomorrow at work,” the man said as he stood up, his staggering height earning terrified looks from the other customers. “It was a pleasure talking with you; please do take care on your way home. I hope your situation at work gets better.”
Before you could say anything more, the man had already left the pub. You groaned in defeat and leaned on the chair; a bit upset you couldn’t chat more. And sadly, there was no extra change in your wallet to get another bottle because you still needed to pay for the train ticket going home.
As you too were about to head out, you saw something on the floor from the corner of your eye. You picked it up to see what was inside, and upon closer inspection, you realized that it was the man’s wallet.
You stumbled from the chair as you looked for something you could use to find out who he was or where he worked; he did say he was going to help prepare for a work-related event, after all. Thankfully, you found his work ID among the cards he had in his wallet.
The back of the ID had a picture of himself along with his name that read ‘Himejima Gyomei’.
“Pretty intimidating name for an intimidating person,” you said as you flipped the ID to see the contents of the front.
“Blah blah, daycare center…”
Daycare center…
An ID… from a daycare center.
“…That man works at a fuckin daycare center?”
You held your stomach with your hand and burst out laughing; you never imagined someone as scary looking as him would work at a daycare center. You laughed for a good five minutes before calming down and wiping the tears of joy that formed in your eyes. “Here bossman, keep the change,” you said, putting the wallet in your bag and placing down a sufficient amount of money on the counter.
“I’m gonna go on a super-secret mission tomorrow to return this wallet to the big guy!” You marched on out of the place and towards the address on his work ID.
“Not really a ‘super-secret’ now that you’ve said it, eh kiddo?” He chuckled seeing that you were still tremendously drunk from all the alcohol you had earlier. “Stay safe on your way home!”
“Yeah yeah, I’m Y/N L/N; danger stays safe from me, not the other way around!” You exclaimed, punching a fist into the air and laughed proudly as you walked toward the train station.
“Ugh, my head is killing me!”
Upon waking up, you were greeted with your cat Kyo on top of you and a terrible hangover.
You tossed and turned beneath the sheets as your entire body ached without end. Kyo jumped from the sudden movement.
“Sorry, Kyo…” you muttered. Suddenly, you got the urge to vomit and grabbed the bucket by your bed and vomited in it.
Did you have one too many drinks last night? Definitely. The pain was absolutely unbearable; you were beginning to heavily regret how much alcohol you had yesterday.
You grabbed your phone from the desk beside your bed to check the time, and it was already 10:57 in the morning. You saw your gallery filled with countless photos of strangers from yesterday.
“How drunk was I…?” You groaned as you deleted the heaps of photos you had taken yesterday.
As you were deleting pictures, you saw one that you had taken with the humongous guy. It took a few seconds before your mind fully registered the image.
“THE WALLET!”
You scrambled out of bed and into the living room to grab your bag. Your vision was still a bit hazy so you had quite a hard time looking for it. Eventually, you found it and dug your hand in search for the man’s wallet.
Soon enough, you found the wallet the man had dropped and remembered all that transpired yesterday. Your face was now flushed a deep shade of red, absolutely embarrassed at your behavior from the previous night.
“I… I called his prayer beads anal beads.”
You covered your burning face with your hands. There was no way you could face that religious man after calling his prayer beads that.
But you were left with no choice; this was his wallet he had dropped, and he was probably worried sick about it.
You took a deep breath and slapped your cheeks. “Alright Y/N, this man dropped his wallet and you don’t exactly wanna be charged for theft. You are going to suck it up and return this wallet to him!”
A fiery determination coursed through your veins; you were feeling energized.
But of course, you were still extremely tired and in pain since your hangover was still there, so you decided to have some tea to sober up before leaving.
An hour had passed, and you were feeling better than earlier. Sure, your head still ached a bit, but it was bearable.
You slid on some casual clothing, stuffed the wallet in your pocket and booked an uber to the location of the daycare. Thankfully, you were able to book one rather quickly. Once the uber arrived, you hopped on into the rear of the vehicle.
“Morning! You picking up your kid at the daycare?” The driver inquired; a wide, welcoming smile plastered on his face.
“Well, not exactly,” you said awkwardly, to which the driver nodded in response.
“I see, my bad for assuming. Well then, please do buckle up before we go, wouldn’t want you getting in any harm now!”
You buckled up your seatbelt and signaled at the driver to let him know you were ready. He then revved up the engine and drove off.
Surprisingly enough, the daycare was quite near your house; you lived in a quiet, humble subdivision where mostly the aged were, and the daycare was just five blocks away from there.
The car soon came to a stop, and you got off the vehicle and bid your farewells to the kind driver. You were now at the daycare, and a sudden wave of apprehension washed over you.
You almost wanted to just bolt away; you were too embarrassed to face the man after what had happened yesterday. But you just couldn’t.
You shook your head and sucked it up before ringing the doorbell that was by the daycare’s gate. After a bit, the gate soon opened and you were greeted by a little girl in a party hat. She had white hair and the prettiest blue eyes you've ever seen. Those very eyes looked right at you with curioisty.
“H-hello! Is someone named… Himejima Gyomei here by any chance?” You asked, looking down at the work ID and the kid in front of you. Her eyes widened even more.
“Oh, you mean uncle Gyo, right?” She exclaimed, her eyes now sparkling.
You blinked in confusion. “…Yes.”
“I’ll go call him,” A toothy smile appeared on her face and she readjusted her party hat. “Uncle Gyo, a pretty lady's looking for you!” She cheered.
Your face heated up instantly. “H-hey, don’t call me that way!” The little girl looked back at you and giggled mischievously.
This is why you preferred taking care of pets over children.
She called for this ‘uncle Gyo’ once more and turned around to face whoever was about to come out.
“Yes Daki, I heard you the first time,”
Oh no.
It’s the same voice from yesterday.
The apprehension became even more unbearable with each passing second, and things just seemed to move so slowly. You prayed and prayed that things would just speed up because you couldn’t spend another second there.
You planned carefully in your mind how things would go: you’d hand his wallet back, and leave immediately.
Yeah.
You wouldn’t have to linger too long there.
Right...?
“Hello, how may I help you?” The man asked.
You gulped and chuckled nervously. “Hello y-yes, are you Himejima Gyomei?”
He froze for a bit upon hearing your voice; you swore you saw his mouth drop a little in shock. “Yes, I am Himejima Gyomei.”
“I-I see…” You chuckled awkwardly as you handed him his wallet. “W-well, uh, you dropped your wallet back at the b-bar yesterday and I came to return it! Yes, that’s what I came here to do.”
Gyomei held his wallet tightly and let out a sigh. “What a relief, I’ve been looking everywhere for it; I’m glad you were able to return it. You have my earnest thanks.”
Your face heated up even more. Had he completely forgotten that you mistook his prayer beads for anal beads?
“D-don’t mention it! I wouldn’t want to be charged for th-theft now, would I?” You held up a trembly hand in attempt to offer him a handshake.
…Why am I offering him a handshake?!
Gyomei shook your hand. His hand was so much bigger compared to yours, which scared you a bit. “Haha, quite the amusing individual you are,” He chuckled as he shook your hand.
You were sweating so much you could fill up a whole ocean, and your cheeks were hot enough to fry an egg.
“W-well then, I should be going now! I can hear the l-little kids calling you,” You bowed frantically and began brisk walking away.
“Wait,”
Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit.
Is he seriously calling me?
But… Why?!
You turned your head around to face Gyomei who surprisingly enough, was still standing at the gate’s entrance. You noticed a few children were peeking out the gate and watching the scene unfold.
“May I ask for your name? Though, it is fine if you wish not to.” Gyomei inquired as he looked down on you. Was he able to sense you were smaller?
Even more beads of sweat trickled down your skin. “L/N Y/N…”
A small smile appeared on his usually stone-like yet soft face. “My, a beautiful name you have indeed. Well then; thank you, L/N.”
You felt your face combust from his compliment. While it was nowhere near summer, you could feel the scorching heat from how flustered you were.
Some of the eavesdropping little children gasped, while others were giggling. Gyomei turned his head around to face the kids, and they all ran back into the daycare still laughing.
“T-t-t-thank you…!” You said, followed by a very awkward chuckle. You wanted to just disappear right there and then; everything was all too embarrassing.
But then, you remembered that you had yet to apologize for what happened last night along with all the regretful things you did last night.
“Are you carrying anal beads?”
“I beg your pardon?”
“Come on, don’t play dumb now! Those beads you’re carrying! Quite the kinky fucker… You’re not ashamed to show to the world the kinda stuff you’re into, huh? I like thaaat!”
With that, your brain was fried completely and you passed out on the cold, hard ground.
“Hello?”
“Uncle Gyo, are they dead?”
Dead…? Who?
“Don’t be stupid, Susamaru! Of course, they aren’t dead!”
“Akaza, do not call others that. And yes, they aren’t dead.”
“What, Susamaru? But uncle Gyo, who would wanna be called that?”
“Akaza!”
Are those the voices of… Children? And the deep voice from the Himejima guy earlier…
“I brought them a piece of my birthday cake; it’ll help them feel better once they wake up!”
“I’m sure they’d appreciate the cake you brought, Daki. Let us be quiet and patient now, everyone; we should let them get the rest they need.”
You groaned as you placed a hand on your cold forehead and felt that there was an ice pack on top of it.
“Uncle Gyo, they’re waking up!”
The ceiling lights were a bit blinding, but you adjusted to them pretty quickly. You sat up with the help of a warm, giant hand on your back and blinked your sleepy eyes open.
“Where… Am I…?” You asked, tiredness evident in your voice.
A little girl shoved a plate in front of your face and greeted you with the widest grin. “You’re at my birthday party!” She cheered.
“Indeed. But to be more specific, the Kimetsu Daycare’s infirmary,” A deep voice said. You realized that it was Gyomei’s.
“You passed out earlier, so we took you here to let you rest. Even though the party was ongoing, all the children stayed here to look after you as you slept. They’ve all been worried sick.” He continued, tears flowing from his glassy eyes.
“R-really?” You uttered in disbelief, but then as you turned to look at all the kids with little party hats in the room; they truly did seem worried for you.
“Sorry for worrying you, and thanks,” You sighed and put the ice pack on the space beside you. “Also, Himejima? I-I’d like to… Apologize.”
The children looked at Gyomei, then back at you, and leaned in closer to better hear what you were about to say.
“I’d like to apologize for what happened and all the vulgar words I used yesterday… It’s all really embarrassing. Especially uh, you know…” You said with your head hung low. “I… I had too much that night. I hope you can let it slide,”
Gyomei couldn’t see the remorseful expression you were making, but he could definitely hear and feel the sincerity in your words.
“It’s quite alright, your apology is accepted. I shall let it pass,” Gyomei said as he patted your head but immediately retracted his arm.
The action made you a blushing mess once more, and you swore you saw a little pink dust his cheeks. All the children were giggling and whispering once again.
Gyomei coughed to dispel the awkwardness and tension. “F-forgive me, it’s a force of habit… I often pat the heads of the children here,” He stammered.
He stammered?
“N-n-no, it’s alright! I don’t mind,” you chuckled nervously, holding up the ice pack to your face.
A little boy with dark, unruly hair looked up at you. “You don’t mind? So, you liked it, which means you like uncle Gyo?”
At this point, you had lost track of how many times you’ve fainted and nearly fainted.
“NO! I-I mean, yes! Well, I mean, uh…” You shrieked, your shaky hands cupping your flushed face.
“It’s alright, you need not reason with Gyutaro; I believe he is just messing around,” Gyomei said, this time patting Gyutaro’s head.
“Anyway, as much as the children and I would love to invite you to the festivities, the party has sadly ended and it’s time to clean up,” Gyomei continued, standing up from the chair he was sitting on.
“You mentioned last night that you like keeping things organized, am I correct? Well then, would you like to help us clean up?”
You shook your head to get a grip back on reality and thought for a bit. You didn’t have anything you needed to get to today, so there wasn’t any harm in staying to clean.
“S-sure, I’ll help,” you said, face still red from what happened.
Everyone then went into the main area of the daycare. It was really spacious. Gyomei instructed and assigned the children to different parts of the daycare for them to clean up.
You would often go around to help them lift heavy objects or tell them more efficient ways to organize things to which they all followed diligently. And sometimes, you took short breaks to play games with the children.
Maybe children weren’t so bad after all.
Gyomei noticed how well you taught and got along with the kids. He couldn’t help but smile, and the birthday girl Daki caught him doing so.
“Uncle Gyo, are you looking at Y/N-chan?”
This caught Gyomei off guard, and the same pink from earlier dusted his cheeks once more. “No no, Daki, I was just… Meditating. And I’m blind, remember? I couldn’t possibly see where L/N is,” He said, giving her a soft smile.
Daki was skeptical at first, but then brushed it off. “Okay!”
Half an hour had passed, and everyone cheered once you all finished cleaning up.
It was already 1:30 pm; the designated time for parents to pick up their children. You and Gyomei stood by the gate and waved goodbye to the kids that left.
Soon enough, all the children had gone home. You dusted off your clothes and waited for Gyomei as he locked the daycare’s gates. He then walked up to you, and the both of you stood beside each other outside the building, relishing in the soothing silence.
Gyomei was the one to break the silence. “It seems that the children really like you, no?”
“I guess so! They’re all really sweet,” You chuckled and scratched the back of your neck.
“Despite having seen your more… Vulgar and rambunctious side yesterday, you’re still a great individual nonetheless. I admire how well you handled the children earlier. Even Akaza, who takes a while to warm up to others, was comfortable with you almost instantly…”
There was a pause. An oh so deafening pause. You felt your heart beat faster with each passing second. Your eyes didn’t know where to look— up in the sky? The ground below you?
But then your eyes landed on his glassy ones. Even though he was blind, you could see the fondness and admiration that lay in them. They were like mirrors to his gentle soul. Your heart raced even more, and your cheeks were flushed a shade of red yet again.
“I myself, don’t usually warm up to others too quickly, either,”
You felt a large, warm hand cup your cheek.
“But it appears that I’ve warmed up to you almost instantly. Not just me, but my heart, too.”
Usually, you would have combusted from embarrassment at situations like these, but you felt… At ease right now. But you didn’t mind; it was a nice feeling, after all.
You held the hand that was cupping your cheek which surprised him, but he welcomed the gesture with a small, gentle smile.
“Is that so? Didn’t expect someone like you to be such a smooth talker!” You mused, raising a playful eyebrow at the man before you.
“I have a friend who has his way with words; I must have picked up on his speech somehow.” Gyomei said, stroking your cheek with his thumb.
“By the way, while I was really drunk last night, I was a bit upset when you said you had to go,” you said looking down at the ground.
Gyomei took his hand off your cheek and put his hands together in prayer. Tears welled up in his glass bead eyes. “Were you? I’m terribly sorry, I didn’t mean to inconvenience you in any way— “
“It’s alright, it’s alright!” You laughed at his worry for you and wiped away the tears that pooled in his eyes. “If anything, I got to know a bit more about you today.”
You held your hands behind your back and looked straight at Gyomei.
“Can I… Get to know you even more?”
Gyomei blinked at you in confusion; it was reminiscent of the same scenario last night when you were ranting about work.
“Sorry, what I mean is: do you wanna… Go out tomorrow? You know, on a uh, date.” You asked, holding up his hand. It was so large it took both of your hands to carry it.
The man then understood what you meant, and a blush crept up his face. “I would be delighted to know more about you, too.”
You smiled from ear to ear and held his hand tightly. “Well then, when are you free?”
“Tomorrow lunch would be good. I know a lovely diner that two good friends of mine run. They sell quite large portions, and the decor is… Odd, but it’s nice regardless.”
“Alright then, I’ll see you there, Himejima!”
“Please, you need not refer to me that way; you can call me Gyomei, if you’d like.”
Your heart raced at the thought of calling him by his first name; it was like all the scenarios you had read before in fiction coming to life in this very moment.
“I’ll see you there, Gyomei! You can call me whatever you want, too.” You chuckled.
“Mine?”
Your eyes blew wide open at his comment, and your face was burning from how flustered you were. “T-that friend of y-yours really does have his way with words, d-doesn’t he?” You stammered.
Gyomei laughed softly, seeing that you struggled to put the words together. Even though you were still shocked and embarrassed, you couldn’t help but smile at his reaction; it was just adorable.
His voice sounded like heaven, and you couldn’t help but wonder what it would sound like in other situations.
Like… When riding a rollercoaster together. Yes.
“Well, I best be going now, Y/N. Yui and Mui are probably looking for me. Take care now, I wouldn’t want anything terrible to happen to you.” Gyomei said, letting go of your smaller hands.
You sighed with relief and happiness. “You take care too, Gyo.”
Gyomei was surprised by the little nickname you had given him, but then smiled shortly after. You gave each other your numbers and the two of you went your separate ways for that day.
Once you saw that he'd left, you jumped up and down and squealed with immeasurable joy. You nearly dropped your phone while doing so and booked an uber.
Not long after booking an uber, you received a message notification from Shinobu.
Caterpillar
My my, does Y/N have a date, now~?
1:44 pm
This time, you dropped your phone. You shrieked upon realizing what happened and picked it up. Thankfully, it sustained no damages. Then another problem arose.
How does Shinobu know?!
You
HWO DO YOU KNOW?!
DHDINOBU EPXLINA RIGHT NOW
MF HOW
SHINOBU
SHIBNOBU
SHINOBU
HELLO
??!!!?????!!
1:45 pm
No matter how many messages you sent, Shinobu still wouldn’t reply. You ran a hand through your hair absolutely confused.
But as you stared at your phone, Gyomei crept into your mind; simply thinking of him made you forget about everything. You found yourself melting into a sheepish smile.
Soon enough, the uber arrived and you hopped on, too dazed to hear what the driver was saying. You looked out the window and continued daydreaming about Gyomei.
Amidst all the stress and embarrassment from the past few days, a fated encounter that you had after having one drink too many made you feel more at ease.
And you wouldn’t have it any other way.