Chapter Text
Takumi wipes his brow as he heads back from his break. It’s tiring work stocking shelves, especially with how fast they empty this close to Christmas, but it’s the perfect job for an aimless guy like him. It spares him the trouble of job hunting one month out of the year, every year, without fail. After all, out here in this lazy town, nothing ever changes. And that’s exactly the way it should be.
Before Takumi can leave the break room and get back to the shelves, though, he’s interrupted by his phone buzzing. When he answers it, he’s surprised to hear the mayor’s voice. “Sumino! Could you swing by my office? I’ve got a favor to ask of you.”
“Of course,” Takumi says without thinking twice. “I’ll head out after my shift.”
Sirei tuts. “You’re working at the department store, right? Go give the phone to Nigou, he’ll okay it.”
Takumi obeys like he breathes, quickly heading over to his manager. Nigou and Sirei have a quick conversation, which must go well, since Nigou takes his badge as he hands him his phone back. “If that’s what Sirei wants, then we can spare you for a bit. You’re free to go!” he says cheerily.
Huh. That was…odd, but there’s no way Takumi’s looking that gift horse in the mouth. He waves to Nigou as he heads out, getting on his bike and starting to pedal. The roads are a bit too icy for his liking—it snowed a lot last night, enough to make driving hard but not enough to get him off work. Which is the worst amount for it to snow! Even so, he manages to get to Sirei’s office without faceplanting into the pavement, and he’ll count that as a victory.
The secretary recognizes him on sight—hard not to in a town this small—and lets him in without a word. It briefly occurs to him that he has no idea what Sirei could possibly want from him enough to pull him off work. It doesn't occur soon enough for him to stop, though, and he opens the door to Sirei’s office, only to be surprised by what he finds inside.
There’s…someone new there. Someone he doesn’t recognize.
That doesn’t happen very often—this town is pretty out of the way of…almost everything, so they don’t get a lot of visitors. And that goes double around the holidays with how icy the roads get! Takumi wipes his eyes, but he’s not seeing things. Standing next to Sirei, looking back at him with a sharp, analytical gaze, is a guy around his age. He is tall—taller than Takumi for sure (though, as he’d note with a hint of frustration, that’s not exactly a high bar to clear). He also has short white hair and purple eyes beneath silver frames (soft and approachable just like Nozomi), but that’s not really what stands out about him.
This guy is way overdressed. He’s wearing a white blazer and white slacks over a black dress shirt, which is more formal than Takumi’s worn…maybe ever? Even high school graduation didn’t have him dressed this fancy. Sure, a few other people dressed up that much, but not him. He’s not sure there are even jobs out here to dress that fancy for, aside from Sirei’s mayor position. Just who is this guy?
“Sumino!” Sirei starts, distracting him. “Good timing. I’ve got someone to introduce you to. This here is Eito Aotsuki. He’s a university student from the big city who’s come here for the holidays on some kind of exchange program.”
Huh. That’d explain…some of this, he guesses, but he’s never needed to get the full details to roll with the punches. What matters is new person. He extends his hand. “I’m Takumi Sumino. Nice to meet you!”
Eito hesitates for a second, before gingerly taking Takumi’s hand in his black-gloved one. “Nice to meet you too. Let me guess—you’re a college student like me?”
His voice is smooth and almost melodic. “Sure am,” Takumi responds, “though somehow I’m guessing your GPA’s better than mine.”
Eito laughs at that, standoffish demeanor cracking for a second before he clamps a hand over his mouth. “Sorry. That’s…a bit rude, isn’t it?”
“It’s not,” Takumi reassures quickly. He’s able to notice two things. First, this guy may not get out much—Takumi’s friends have said meaner to him and felt nothing about it. Second, he has a nice laugh. It’d be nice to hear that again, which is going to require him to feel more comfortable than this. “I was the one who started it, so-“
“Great, you two are acquainted, yada yada yada.” Sirei cuts both of them off, walking past them to his office door. “Now, for the reason why you’re here, Sumino. Aotsuki needs someone to show him around, and I thought of you for the job.”
Takumi nods slowly. He could do that, for sure, but… “Not to say I won’t, but are you gonna take me off of work for it, or-“
“Nigou and I have worked out an arrangement. You’ll be compensated, of course, but that means you need to put your back into it. You need to show him a good time. Keep him too busy to get into any trouble!”
There’s a hard look in Eito’s eyes at that part, but any worry over it is outweighed by the elated feeling of getting time off work. “You don’t need to worry about that at all,” he reassures Sirei. “I’ll do everything I can.” With that, he turns to Eito. “Shall we?”
Eito still looks less than pleased, but he follows Takumi out of the office and into the snowy outdoors.
The first thing Takumi notices about Eito is that their age is pretty much the only thing they have in common. Eito is driven while Takumi’s laid back, much better a student than Takumi is, likes books to Takumi’s movies…et cetera.
The second thing he notices is that he seems just a little…restrained. To Eito’s credit, it’s not like he doesn’t make conversation. Whatever bad mood came over him at the end there seems gone, and he can make small talk perfectly well, listen to what Takumi’s saying, and ask good questions at the right times. But despite all that, there’s something…off about him. Like under the smiles, he’s not really enjoying this. Even though Takumi showed him all his favorite places—the sandwich place with the great shop, the comics shop that lets him browse without buying, even the bar he goes to every week or so, none of it seems to get through to him. And Takumi has a sinking feeling that this isn’t really what he’s being paid for.
“Is there anything wrong?” Takumi asks as they leave the warmth of the bar and return to the cold, snowy sidewalk. “You seem a little subdued.”
“Hm,” Eito says, face frustratingly impassive. “Is that so? I was just trying to be personable.” His face falls. “But that’s not working, is it? I’m not being a very good guest.”
Takumi hesitates. It’s—he’s being shown around, it’s not his job to be good at that. But at the same time, it’d be kinda nice if he were enjoying this…at all. “I mean…” Takumi trails off.
That seems to do the trick. Takumi’s bracing for a reaction, but instead, something strange happens. After a second of processing, Eito takes a deep breath and his expression levels out to neutral. “I…see. Thank you for telling me. I’m…not great with social situations, but…” His voice is rigid. “I know that’s no excuse not to learn. If I make any more mistakes like that, then please don’t hesitate to tell me. I promise it won’t change how I see you.”
Takumi slowly nods. “In that case, it…kinda sucks as a host to feel like you’re not getting anywhere. I want to take care of you, not just drag you around.” He sighs. “Is there anywhere you’d be interested in here? Like, something that’d appeal more to you-“
He’s cut off by the loud, harsh sound of coughing. Takumi waits patiently for it to subside, but it drags on for several minutes. Not only that, but this isn’t ‘a fly got in my throat’ coughing, it sounds kind of serious. Even when Eito does stop, he seems…pale. Takumi had assumed he just didn’t get outside much, but… “Hey, are you feeling okay?” he asks.
Eito looks up at him, eyes dull and lidded. He nods quickly. “Sorry, just feeling a little under the weather. Some time alone should clear it right up.”
That’d make sense. It is pretty cold out here —it’s very possible a city guy like him isn’t used to it. Sirei may not be happy with Takumi for ending his day early, but surely he’ll understand. “That sounds like a good idea. I’ll walk you back to your hotel.”
Eito shrugs, even though his body’s almost shaking. “Oh, you don’t have to—“
“I insist,” Takumi says firmly as he slings an arm around Eito’s shoulder, guiding him as they head back. The walk back to the historic inn (which is pretty much the only place where out-of-towners would stay—it is the fanciest place in town) is long and cold, but less so with the two of them. “I’d be a pretty bad tour guide if I just abandoned you to find your way back alone.”
Eito still seems uncertain, but he shakily nods. It’s probably just the sickness. The walk back is awkward, but Takumi can live with a little awkwardness. What matters is getting Eito back so he can rest and recover. “Is there anything else I can do?” he finds himself asking once they get to the inn. “Like, do you need any medicine, or—“
“I’m good,” Eito cuts him off roughly, face downcast. He doesn’t stay like that for long, though, looking back at Takumi with a weak smile after a few harsh breaths. “That…was fun.”
“I’m glad,” Takumi says, heart panging a bit as he forces himself to ignore Eito’s lie. “Hopefully tomorrow will go better.”
Eito’s eyes widen. “Sorry, you’re doing this tomorrow too?”
Takumi nods. “I’ll check with Sirei to make sure, but I already know what he’ll say. This isn’t a one-day thing.” Eito almost looks ready to start hyperventilating, so Takumi reaches out to place a hand on his shoulder. “Don’t worry. I’ll make sure tomorrow goes better than today.”
Eito doesn’t react much to that, but he does slowly nod before finally turning away and going to his room. Takumi watches him leave, before starting the walk back. It occurs to him that he never gave Eito his phone number, but…the people working in the inn know it. If he asks around a bit, he’ll get it. That should mean that Takumi’s done enough—he’s off the clock for now, it isn’t his problem for today, but…
He can’t stop thinking about Eito. There was just something about him. Sure, he was most definitely an out-of-towner. From the way that he dressed to the way that he talked to his closed-off mannerisms, it was impossible to miss. But, despite all that, there was a kind of vulnerability to him. Something about him made Takumi want to take care of him. Make sure those nervous and sick faces don’t show up ever again. Sure, it’s possible that him being like that was just a side effect of moving somewhere new, but the result is still the same. He’s lonely, sad, and in need of help. Help that Takumi would be glad to provide.
Though there are a few loose ends to tie first. Takumi waits till he’s back home to contact Sirei.
Hey can I take off work for the rest of the week to show the new guy around
It takes a bit, but Sirei eventually responds.
You keeping Aotsuki busy would take a load off my plate.
Good job being a team player, Sumino! I’ll tell Nigou to make arrangements so you can take the week off.
Thank goodness
I won’t let either of you down!
Takumi puts down his phone and smiles. Now that he’s got Sirei’s stamp of approval, there’s nothing holding him back. He will make sure Eito has his best Christmas yet. No matter how lonely Eito may be, Takumi can save him from himself.