Work Text:
Owning a restaurant has been your lifelong dream, ever since you were a little boy (the boy aspect unrealized at the time), and you've finally done it. Not only that, but you were just over a week into the grand opening, and THE pro hero Fat Gum stopped by during his patrol! You'd never got to meet him before, despite being in the restaurant industry for a long time, so it was extra special. It's like he was meant to meet you at your own restaurant. Or at least, that's what your best friend and social media manager, Taimu Ryunosuke, told you. Either way, he was a huge delight to host. Perfectly professional, perfectly enthusiastic, and perfectly critiquing the food. His sidekick even took some pictures of him eating and told you he'd be shouting you out online! You went to bed a happy man. How could you not? Your dreams and beyond were unfolding right in front of you!
Until you checked your phone the next morning, starting with your emails as you always did.
EMAIL at 23:35 from [email protected]
» Forwarded at 23:40 by [email protected]
Good evening Taimu Ryunosuke,
We would like to apologize to you and your employer for the error made in Fat Gum's latest Instagram post. We have corrected the post, and deny any ill will towards your employer and his identity in the original iteration. Please refrain from posting about the error online, as we are currently working to rectify the situation.
With regards,
The Fat Gum Public Relations Team
Oh boy.
You checked your other notifications, hoping to find out how your life was going to crumble apart as soon as it had began.
Yesterday, at 23:59
13 missed calls from Taimu ♥
5 voicemail messages left from Taimu ♥
Taimu Priv 🔒 sent you 3 Tweets!
fatgumofficial and 47 people mentioned you on Instagram!
Now
56 missed calls from Taimu ♥
1045 people mentioned you on Instagram!
#cancelfatgumparty is trending on Twitter!
As you were agonizing over what you'd tap on first, your phone rang with the custom tone reserved for Taimu. It seemed she was deciding for you.
"…what hap—"
"YOU'RE FINALLY AWAKE!" With how loud she screamed directly into your eardrum, you sure were! "Please tell me you saw anything."
"No, I just woke up. Why is Fat Gum getting cancelled? What the hell happened?"
There was a pause before you heard a sigh on the other end. "He misgendered you in the shout-out post."
"… and?"
"And… someone took a screenshot of it before it was fixed and it went viral."
You just sat for a moment, processing.
"That's it…?"
"Yeah. Me and his PR team are thinking that if we just get you two to show publicly that you're cool with each other, the Internet will back off. They're also having him donate to a trans charity for good measure."
"Can't I just make a post saying that he's fine and I forgive him—"
"No, you can't. People will think he paid you."
You groaned, letting yourself fall back onto your pillow. You signed up for restuarant management, not PR!
"I know, I know. It's a lot. But just think! You'll get to hang out with Fat Gum! And this publicity might be good for business."
Your eyes rolled so far back they could've disappeared into your skull. "Right… And it totally won't be awkward and keep him from ever visiting the restaurant ever again…"
"Come on, he's a nice guy! I'm sure everything'll be fine. Now get ready, your hangout is in two hours."
You shot up out of bed, dizzy on your feet. "Two hours?!?"
"Yep!" Taimu sounded as chipper as ever. You'd swear she had a mean streak to her the way she happily tested your patience. "You'll be going to the mall near his agency building! That way the paparazzi creeping around will definitely see him!"
"This doesn't sound like the best plan…"
"The best plan would've been him not misgendering you online in the first place, sweetie. This is our best backup."
You put your phone on speaker and left it on your bed as you replied, slipping on some jeans. "Do I have to be involved with this at all? I mean, no one is coming after me, right?"
"I mean… no, but helping Fat Gum will help your business, and he might help us directly in the future, too. Besides, didn't you call him a sweetheart after meeting him? Like—"
Having put on your binder, you interrrupted. "I get it, Taimu. I just hate this situation, that's all. But I'll still help him out." You sighed deeply. If you were a worse person, you could probably ride the wave of fame that came with this, and leave Fat Gum in the dust. But thinking about him wrongfully losing his career tugged at your heartstrings too much to stand by.
"That's the boss man I know and love! Just wear something casual and try to have fun!"
Right. Fun…
As you approached the mall, you saw Taimu standing by the main entrance. Once she saw you in turn, she began frantically waving, her tail wagging to keep her body balanced. Clad in your lucky t-shirt and oversized hoodie, you approached her.
"Are you hanging out with us?"
She chuckled. "No, not at all. I was just making sure you showed up. Fat Gum is about to be on his way, so I'm gonna leave."
"Oh. Alright." You picked a bit at the loose threads in your hoodie. What if you messed up Fat Gum's career even more by being too awkward?
She placed a hand on your arm as she passed. "Just relax and try to have fun. That's all you gotta do." As she began to walk away, she stopped. "Oh, and don't answer any questions from paparazzi. Let him handle that."
You nodded, and waved back at her as she left. You really considered being the hypothetical worse person, as you stood dumbly waiting for Fat Gum. What if he didn't show up? What if he didn't want to see you again after what happened to his reputation? You wouldn't blame him. What if—
With a small tap on your shoulder, a gentle voice called your name. As you turned, you saw Fat Gum, in a hoodie and cargo shorts, smiling down at you.
"Good morning. You okay?"
Despite the feeling of cotton in your mouth, you replied. "Um… yeah. Listen, I'm sorry for everything going on right now."
He blinked at you for a moment, before snorting. "You're sorry?? I wanted to say that I'm sorry for misgendering you in my post. I promise it was an accident. Fat fingers, you know?" He wiggled his fingers in front of him, making you laugh.
"Fair enough. It just sucks that people are so up in arms about it. No one even asked me how I felt."
He shrugged. "Yeah, those gossip magazines love to start trouble without asking anyone. It's just frustrating that they directed that towards me this time." He pointed at the doors to the mall. "Anyway, have you eaten? We can get some breakfast. Or lunch. Or whatever you want, really. I'm not picky."
"Lunch would be nice, yeah." As you turned to walk with him, you heard him gasp. Scared out of your boots, you whipped your head around to look at him. He was staring at your shirt with a smile.
"A Lunch Rush shirt?!? Where'd you get that? I didn't even know they made those!"
You looked shyly down at your shirt, which had worn down quite a bit since you got it for your birthday a decade ago. Thankfully, it was still legible. "Yeah, it was a limited edition line made after his debut, and my best friend saw how much I liked him, so…"
His smile got wider. "Aw, what a great friend!"
The joy was contagious, and you felt the awkwardness of the situation begin to leave you as you smiled back. "She really is. I wouldn't have had the balls to actually found my own restaurant without her. She's been so supportive."
"Do you know if I met her while I was there?" Well…
"She might be my social media manager…" The one that constantly took pictures of him at the restaurant, and the very same one that organized this hangout with his PR team…
His cheeks flushed, and he busied himself with opening the door to the indoor mall for you. "I see… She's really supportive of you, then."
An understatement of the century.
You stepped inside, grazing past his belly. "Yeah, but I promise she's not normally so overbearing. The grand opening and the restaurant just mean a lot to her." You sighed, thinking back on the situation, and the anxiety that began to creep up your throat again. "It means a lot to me, too. I'm afraid to fail and watch it fall apart."
He hummed in agreement as you both walked. All there was was silence, footsteps, and the ambient noise of customers at the mall. Until he spoke up again. "You wanna know something?"
You turned your head to look at him. "What?"
"I've spoken to countless restaurant owners over the course of my hero career so far. Some that have been in the business for as long as I've been alive, and some like you that are just starting out. Every single new owner I talk to is so anxious about their business, but not many have someone right by their side to support them so much. I think with your best friend by your side, you'll turn out just fine." He locked eyes with you and gave an enthusiastic thumbs up. "And I'll make sure you get through this okay. I'm a hero, after all."
The sentiment was like a shot to your heart. Tears pooled in your eyes before you could process them, and his smile quickly faded as he handed you a tissue.
"I'm sorry! Didn't mean to make you cry!"
You wiped your eyes with the tissue, and felt warmth wash over you.
Wait. Warmth?
Fat Gum was hugging you and rubbing your back. The dam in your heart burst, and you found yourself sobbing into the softness of his hoodie and the plumpness of his chest. The carasses on your back and the warmth of his body around you slowly brought you to a less frantic state.
His voice, soft with concern, reverberated against your face as your breathing calmed. "Did I say something wrong?"
Finally beginning to gather yourself, you chuckled into his chest before pulling away.
"No, I just…" You wiped your eyes, and hoped your face wasn't too red from the embarrassment. "I really needed to hear that, I think?"
"Okay. Good," he sighed. His hands were on your shoulders, his thumbs rubbing in their place. "I was worried—"
Click!
The universe must have decided that you were going to have the worst day imaginable, actually. Silly you for thinking otherwise.
You both turned to the source of the flash to see a smug woman lowering her camera and approaching you. Fat Gum quickly let go on your shoulders and wiped his hands on his hoodie, as if he could wipe off the evidence of touching you. The woman's heeled clacked against the floor as she pulled out a notepad and pen.
"Pro Hero Fat Gum and…" She locked eyes with you before looking at your shirt. "… the misgendered restaurant owner. What a pleasure to see you both on such good terms so quickly after this recent scandal!"
"Mrs. Viola," Fat Gum groaned. "Hasn't the Flaming Hot Goss had enough of me this week?"
She stepped into both of your spaces and poked his chest with her pen. "Of you? Never." Then, she turned to you, her irises glowing a sickly yellow. "Now, handsome, care to comment on the outrage on the Internet regarding Fat Gum's shout-out?"
"Oh no you don't!" Fat Gum gently guided you behind him. "He's an innocent party in this, Viola. You can interview me, but not him."
Finally, you began to see her smile waver, and she leaned over to look at you from around his body. "Now, now. He's a grown man and can vouch for himself, yes? Unless you'd like to claim otherwise again?" Fat Gum's mouth gaped at that comment, and you couldn't blame him.
You piped up. "I have no comment at this time, and I'd like you to leave us alone." This time, her smile fully faded.
"Fine then," she said grimly. "Pictures do speak a thousand words, so I'll make do. Good day to you, gentlemen." She turned tight on her heel and walked off, her heels clacking into the distance.
You and Fat Gum both sighed, and he spoke. "She always has the worst timing. But I don't think that picture will make anything worse."
"Good…" You really could not handle any more bullshit today.
"Anyway, all this stress is no good on an empty stomach! Let's have lunch!"