Longer chapter! Not me re-naming old OCs to fit the story lol
Reigen’s feet carried him faster than normal this morning, desperate to reach the bakery. He’d spent the night tossing and turning, trying to dissect the bits of conversation he’d heard from Mob, and wondering if he somehow screwed up. As the bakery came into view he realized the lights were still off. There was a handwritten note taped to the door.
“We will be opening by 10AM today, sorry for the inconvenience!”
Reigen’s heart sank. A late opening? (Y/N) hadn’t opened late the entire time he’d be coming to see her. He would know, he usually got there before she actually opened when he was on his way to work and she’d let him in before opening to have first pick and try new batches. Would he be insane if he opened late and waited for her? Reigen checked his watch, 8:15AM. He was supposed to open at 9AM and already had a client scheduled for 9:45. Well damn.
Yeah, he decided, it would be weird if he opened late and waited here for her. Feeling dejected, he kept walking to the office. Might as well go in early since he was already out; if he went back home now it wouldn’t make sense. He arrived at the office less than 10 minutes later, lighting a cigarette, hoping it would help his anxious thoughts. Surprise surprise, it didn’t help at all.
Reigen sighed, looking up at the sky. He’d just stop by after work, no big deal, right? He heard footsteps rounding the corner of the building, then a surprised squeak as someone almost ran into him.
That someone being, “(Y/N)? What- what are you doing here?”
Her faced burned at Reigen’s bewilderment. “I- um- you-“ she looked down at her watch. “It’s 8:30, you’re not supposed to be here yet!”
Reigen shook his head, no less confused than before. “That… doesn’t answer my question.” His eyes moved down to a pastel blue box in her hands, the words ‘To Reigen Arataka’ written on it. His gaze moved back to her’s. “What’s this?”
Her face burned brighter and she looked away. “This- uh- Aaahhh man this is so awkward. It… was supposed to be a surprise… when I wasn’t here. I was gonna leave it at your office door.”
The man raised a brow, a hand on his hip. “Why couldn’t you just give it to me yourself, why leave it at my door and run?” He reached out for the box, opening it without hesitation. Reigen’s face broke into a smile at the contents of the box. A round cake, with yellow icing, that read, “Happy Late Birthday, Reigen!” A little chibi (Y/N) giving him a thumbs up was next to his name. He slowly raised his eyes from the cake back to (Y/N), his smile never faltering.
She awkwardly averted her gaze, squeezing her eyes shut tight. “S-stop staring at me and say something.”
Reigen laughed, grabbing her by the arm and pulling her up the stairs. “Come on, I’ve got forks in my office.” He set the box on the coffee table, gesturing for (Y/N) to sit on the couch. He returned a moment later with two forks and some plates.
The girl fidgeted in her seat, her cheeks still dusted pink. “I.. was bummed I’d missed your birthday and… and I wanted to make you a thank you for the other day. I thought this was a good uh- compromise for both.”
She looked so unbelievably cute, and Reigen was so incredibly flattered, he just had to tease her. “Did you try to recruit Mob to deliver for you?” She nodded, and he continued, “But he said he couldn’t, so you came here before opening, because you were too shy to give it to me yourself?”
She nodded again, her blush darkening. In a small voice she said, “I was embarrassed, thought you might think it was dumb.”
Reigen laughed, putting an arm around her shoulder in a side hug. “Think it was dumb? Absolutely not, you’re so sweet. This is the best late birthday present a guy could ask for. I’ll have to cry for 6 days now, to prove I wasn’t lying.” He started loudly fake sobbing, making honk shoo noises between fake sobs.
(Y/N) laughed, shoving him. “You’re so dumb, honk shoo is for fake sleeping, not crying!”
Reigen gasped, waving his hands around. “Fake?! I, Reigen Arataka, would never fake my cries! Those were 100%, real, genuine, sobs! You’re so heartless! You show up at my office, assault me, give me the most thoughtful gift, then bully me when I totally, not fake at all, cry. You’re giving some mixed signals here!”
Her laugher grew, causing Reigen to smile so hard his cheeks almost hurt. “You’re such a drama queen, I didn’t assault you. This would be assault.” She shoved him again, the smile never leaving her face.
Reigen gave her a light shove back. “How dare you assault me, in my own office no less!” Thank god she wasn’t mad at him. The conversation she had with Mob made a lot more sense now. The anxiety in the pit of his stomach nearly evaporated at the sight of her smile. Reigen sighed, a relieved smile on his face. “You know… I was worried I’d somehow upset you to be honest.”
(Y/N)’s brows furrowed. “Upset me how? I’m not upset with you at all.” Her gaze fell onto her hands, which were fidgeting in her lap. “I was worried I made a fool of myself the other night. Thought the cake might help me break the tension, but then I got all in my head about that too.” An alarm started going off on her phone, signaling she needed to start heading to the bakery.
Reigen glanced at his watch. It was already 9:15. He thought for a moment. “Hey, my first client doesn’t come in till 9:45. Can I walk you back?”
(Y/N) took a deep breath, trying to hide her smile. “I… I’d like that.”
Conversation flowed easily on their walk. Reigen found himself wishing the barley was further away so he could be with her longer. They made jokes and sarcastic quips, shoulders occasionally bumping as they walked. His gaze on her was soft as she laughed about some story she was telling him.
„Man” he thought to himself, „I should really ask her out again… would that be weird? Too soon? We did just go out a few days ago.” Reigen was pulled out of his thoughts by (Y/N)’s gasp as they neared the bakery.
There was a man standing outside, leaning against the wall, kicking a rock between his feet. (Y/N) called out to him. “Kai? Is that you?”
His eyes snapped away from the rock, up to her face. A friendly smile on his face as he approached her. His movements were slow, as if trying not to scare her off. “Well, aren’t you a sight for sore eyes? I’m not here to cause trouble, just wanted to check on you.” He opened his arms to her, his eyes soft. “Would it be too much to ask for a hug?”
She moved quickly, meeting him halfway, easily returning the embrace. Kai smiled wide, lifting her feet off the ground and spinning her around. “It’s been too long, (Y/N).” She laughed as he spun her, and Reigen found himself annoyed. Who the heck was this guy? Kai easily set her back down on the ground. Reigen couldn’t help but notice that Kai was taller than him, and effortlessly handsome. His brown curls slightly sweeping into his eyes as he looked down at (Y/N), a stupid smile on his stupidly handsome face.
(Y/N) smiled in a way that seemed different from how she looked at Reigen. Jealousy bubbled in his stomach. “It’s good to see you! You don’t live in Seasoning City now, do you?”
Kai laughed, awkwardly scratching the back of his head. “Nah, I’m over at Fruit Hills now, actually. Decided you had the right idea leaving home.”
(Y/N) looked shocked. “No way, that’s awesome! Wait… isn’t that like a 5 hour train ride from here? What brings you here?”
A smile stretched across Kai’s stupidly handsome face, he ruffled (Y/N)’s hair. “Yeah, I came to see you.” Okay, Reigen officially wanted to hit him. “I heard about what happened the other day and wanted to stop by to make sure you were okay. Sorry I couldn’t come yesterday, I had to work. I woulda called but I wasn’t sure if you still had the same number.” He handed her his phone, Reigen could see her contact was open, the photo seemed to be of (Y/N) many years ago, she seemed to still be in her teens.
The girl wrinkled her nose. “Ew, why do you have that photo?” She laughed, taking a quick selfie to change the contact photo. “There, that’s better. Yeah, my number is still the same. I appreciate you coming, but I’m okay.” Her eyes drifted to Reigen, her gaze softening. “I had a friend that took care of me after.”
Kai smiled to Reigen, extending a hand for him to shake. As much as Reigen didn’t want to, he did. Kai’s handshake was strong, confident. Reigen tried not to grumble to himself. Of course Kai had a good handshake, why wouldn’t he.
“Nice to meet you, I’m Kai. Thank you for being there (Y/N), I know she wouldn’t ask for help on her own.”
Reigen tried not to make a face, instead putting on his confidence persona. “Reigen Arataka. Don’t mention it, I’m always more than happy to be there for her. (Y/N) is a good friend, I’d move mountains for her if I could.”
Kai smirked as he let go of Reigen’s hand, an amused and smug look in his eye. “Is that so? Well, she’s lucky to have you.” Kai pulled (Y/N) into another hug. “Well, I’m glad you’re alright. Listen, Sora wanted to come too but he’s got work. I promised him I’d bring back some world famous pastries to make up for him missing the trip.” He gave (Y/N) and wink, and she flushed under the praise. Reigen wished the ground would swallow him whole. “Sora wants to see you, though. Think it would be cool if we planned another visit? I know I’ve got your number now, at least.”
(Y/N)’s eyes sparkled as she motioned to Kai and Reigen to follow as she unlocked the door. “I’d love that! It would be great to see him again. Pick whatever you want.”
Kai picked a few sweets, as (Y/N) was packing them up he whispered something in her ear, his eyes fixed on Reigen. Whatever Kai said caused her face to turn a deep shade of red, pulling a deep chuckle from Kai.
Kai ruffled her hair once more, gratefully taking the bag from her. “We’ll do our best to come back soon.” As he made his way to the door, he clapped a hand on Reigen’s shoulder. “I’m sure I’ll see you again.” A teasing smile pulled at his lips, his eye’s flicking from Reigen to (Y/N). “She’s lookin’ a little feverish there, might need your help with that.”
The girl looked like she was going to explode. “KAI! Shut the hell up!”
The man laughed loudly, throwing a wave over his shoulder as he left.
(Don’t worry he’ll eat the cake in the next one, I didn’t forgot, Reigen did lol)
