Work Text:
Kazunari hadn’t planned on making visits to the cat shelter a habit. It just kind of happened. After the field trip there and the nice chat with the guy who seemed to always be working there, he found it was a nice place to go.
That’s why he was a little more than shocked when he walked in and there was already someone there. Well… shocked that that person seemed to be some kind of doctor, rather. He shook his head and put on a bright smile as he approached the taller man, his hand outstretched. “Hi! Nice to meet you.”
“Oh,” The other man blinked and pushed up his glasses, then took Kazunari’s hand and shook it gently. “A pleasure to meet you as well. You must be the other regular I’ve been told about.” A small, pleasant smile spread slowly across his features and he dropped his hand after while. “My name is Midorima Shintarou, you are?”
“Takao Kazunari.” Kazunari replied, glad to finally get a name with the face. All he’d ever heard from Seijuurou was “there’s another guy who comes in often”, so he wondered if Shintarou was that other guy. Maybe he was, maybe he wasn’t. He’d just have to find out. “So,” he started instead, hoping to learn a little bit about Shintarou. “what brings you here? Looking for a cat?”
Shintarou shook his head a little bit. “No, I need advice on a cat I already have.” He stated simply, and rather matter-of-fact, Kazunari thought. “The man who works here knows much more than I do about cat behaviors and how to handle nervousness in new places.”
“I see!” Now Kazunari felt dumb for going just to say hi and talk about how much his class still wanted a kitten for their class pet. Well, it’s not like Shintarou was there for a cat either, right? He could play it off as something similar. Maybe set up another field trip. Or… He could ask Seijuurou to come for career day! That would work.
“So,” Shintarou’s voice snapped Kazunari out of his thoughts. “why are you here? Are you looking for a cat, perhaps?” He was so formal, almost annoyingly so. Then again, the way he dressed suggested he did work at some high-end company or… something.
Kazunari laughed nervously and shook his head. “No, actually, I’m also here to talk to the guy who works here.” He mentally smacked himself in the forehead. Why was he cursed with the perpetually casual speech pattern? Shintarou must think he’s some sort of idiot. “I mean… not for the reason you’re here, but I have a question.”
“I see.” Shintarou nodded and adjusted his glasses. He crossed his arms and wondered if asking Kazunari’s profession would be too forward, then went ahead and did so anyway. “What do you do, Takao-kun?”
At that, Kazunari perked up. “Oh! I’m a kindergarten teacher!” He chimed happily. He was the kind of guy who really loved what he did. If he didn’t, he’d have quit a long time ago. “What about you, Midorima-kun?”
“I’m a therapist.” Shintarou replied, less enthusiastically than Kazunari did. That didn’t mean he didn’t love his job–he did, very much–he just happened to keep that passion inside most of the time. It was more evident in his eyes and actions than in his words, anyway.
“Interesting~” Kazunari smiled. Their conversation was cut short when the door to the office swung open and someone that sort of resembled Seijuurou walked out, mostly covered in kittens and thus making it hard to tell who it actually was.
“I apologize for the wait–” The redhead began, then stopped when he noticed that Shintarou and Kazunari had been talking to each other. “Do you… know each other?” Admittedly, that wasn’t what he had planned on saying, but it came out in his curiosity.
“Oh, no. We just met, actually!” Kazunari piped up, since Shintarou wasn’t going to say anything. “We were chatting while waiting for you, just to pass the time.” His features tugged into a bright smile as he spoke, mostly happy to have made a new friend, and partially pleased Seijuurou knew Shintarou as well.
Seijuurou nodded. “I see.” A soft smile came to his face and he pulled one of the many kittens off his shoulder to set down on the ground. “I’m glad you seem to get along.” As he spoke, he began to set the kittens down one by one and attempt to pat all the cat fur off his apron and shirt.
“Right.” Shintarou nodded, taking over for Kazunari. “Well, I won’t waste too much of your time, I just have a few questions.” Straight to the point, Kazunari took note. “It seems Takao-kun has a few of his own as well.”
Seijuurou blinked and nodded. “I see. Well, why don’t you both come into the office, then? It’ll be quicker that way.” He motioned toward the open door behind him and stepped aside to let them pass. For some reason, he had the feeling they’d be seeing a lot more of each other in the future.