Through a Glass Screen (Hiro x Reader)

Chapter 23

"I can't believe it was that easy," Hikari said, smiling warmly at you. "The whole time, I was just checking the wrong place." She turned her gaze back down to her phone, as if she wasn't seeing the profile that showed up. There was Cole's face, years older, but still with the brilliant smile you remembered from Hikari's photo. It was as easy as following him, making sure you hadn't been catfished, matching up names (both read Cole Feyre) and, well... sliding into the DMs.

It seems Cole was in as much disbelief as Hikari was. After the first few cautious messages, he accepted that it truly was Hikari, and the two swapped phone numbers. They talked for hours last night, still talking when you fell asleep. When you woke up this morning, the first thing you did was find your cat and feed him. Despite the fact he wouldn't come running to your voice, he was quick to appear when his bowl started rattling.

After the cat had been fed, you went to see if Hikari was awake yet. Traipsing up the hallway towards Hikari's room, you were grateful of the fluffy carpet beneath your bare feet - cold feet really do make a morning worse. Hikari's door wasn't open, so you knocked, and then listened. Nothing. You tried again, in case she had missed the first one. Again, silence from the other side of the door. Shrugging, you turned and went back to the kitchen.

Your cat had finished all his food in one go, a more dog-like approach to food than most cats. You swung your head around to look at the large, ornate clock that was hung off a wall in the lounge. It seemed almost out of place in Hikari's mostly modern apartment, but it was probably the most useful thing - at least, it was right now. The clock read 9:45 am, meaning it was an hour fifteen till Hiro got here!

You decided you should probably have breakfast, and got out a bowl of you favourite cereal (don't like cereal? a) omg rlly? and b) have toast). Turning on the television, an image of Tadashi's school greeted you. The newsreader looked bright and happy, their brown hair sprayed perfectly into a quiff, suit immaculate, the epitome of newsreader fashion. They were excitedly explaining about scholarship opportunities, and named some of last year's 'recipients' - everyone knew that the real word was winners. You ate the last mouthful of cereal.

You put the now empty bowl of cereal in the sink and went to your room to get ready for the day. You lay your clothes out on your bed, layering them inside out, hoodie on the bottom, shirt on the top. Then you went to the bathroom, leaning into the shower and turning on the hot tap. Making sure you had soap and shampoo, you quickly stripped off and stepped into the glass box.

Having the hot water run down your back was soothing, and after a couple of minutes just standing you cleaned yourself up and turned off the water. Grabbing a towel and wrapping it around yourself, you stared at yourself in the mirror.  This was, essentially, the same face that had been staring back at you two weeks ago. Now there was subtle differences, deeper bags under your eyes from nights spent sleepless and crying, skin slightly more tan from the always-sticky San Fransokian atmosphere.

You shook your head, clearing the thoughts from around your head. You couldn't be standing in a towel! You had a guest coming! Teeth- and hair-brushing ensued, and then a dash to your room. Just as you were about to close the door, you heard Hikari's voice float down the hall from the living area. "(Y/N)! I'm meeting up with Cole today! Wish me luck, I'm going now!"

"Well, good luck Hikari!" You yelled back, before slamming the door and hurriedly chucking on today's outfit. It was a bit warmer, so you ditched the hoodie, leaving you with a (F/C) t-shirt, blue jeans and a pair of flip-flops. You walked out to the living area, and saw a note on the kitchen bench. Peering down to read it, you catch a glance of words like 'park' and 'date'. You decide to read the letter in full.

Dear (Y/N), it read. As you probably heard me say, this morning I am going out to see my friend Cole from high school. We are meeting at the park. I'm so glad he wanted to see me. I thought I was just going to get rejected, chased away again. I'm not sure how awkward this is going to be, as we were kind of dating then. Is this kind of a date?There's leftovers from my dinner last night - some cold chicken - if you and Hiro want chicken sandwiches for lunch. Best of luck with your brainstorming! Love, Hikari xx

"Speaking of Hiro," you said to yourself, glancing at the clock, which read 11:10. "He could be here any minute!" You decided to go and tidy up your room, and just as you got to it, you heard the doorbell ring. Spinning on one heel, you jogged out to the front door. Swinging it open greeted you with a smiling Hiro. You grinned back, before gesturing that he should come inside.

"Shall we get thinking?"

---

The kitchen clock read 8pm. The kitchen bench was covered in plates and scrunched up balls of paper. Theses balls of paper coated almost every surface, flat or not, and made it look like a snowstorm had hit Hikari's flat. Hiro lay facedown on the couch, and you sat curled up on the armchair, a close to empty notepad clamped between your chest and legs. Both of you looked tired, frustrated and sick of notepads. You heard Hiro throw his across the room.

"Nine. Hours!" He said, sitting up and staring across the room at you. "We've been here nine hours and come up with diddly squat." This phrase made you giggle, and Hiro narrowed his eyes at you. "Yes, haha, I didn't swear. Funny me. I'm so done." He collapsed back onto the couch, this time on his back. "I'm ready for dinner. Hikari isn't back from her date yet, so you wanna come eat at the Lucky Cat?"

"It wasn't a date!" You defended. "At least, she didn't think so. And, your right, they were only just meeting up... Why is she still gone? She should've been back hours ago..." You buried your head in your hands. "Oh, Hiro, what if what happened to Mum and Dad... Happened to her? What if something worse happened? Like-"

"Whoa, whoa whoa!" Hiro jumped up from his seat and walked across the room to you. "Nothing has happened to her. She's fine. She probably just got wrapped up in catching up with her friend and forgot about the time. She's gonna be okay. And so are you, once we get some warm food into you. Come on, time to go eat."