i couldn't help but fall for you || Takuto Maruki x Reader

apples and cookies

You feel like just another cog in the wheel: always turning, never falling out of line, and it's suffocating. Is that what you want for yourself?

Enthalpy is a thermodynamic property which describes a system's internal energy, plus the product of its pressure and volume.

You always tell yourself that it's for the greater good. You're  providing a service to the workers and students in the Aoyama-itchōme area, and you're  getting paid for your time. Really though, the wages here are like breadcrumbs.

Meanwhile, entropy is a thermodynamic quantity representing the unavailability of a system's thermal energy for conversion into mechanical work.

This is what the morning rush does to you, huh? Maybe you're  just naturally pessimistic, but this job made you despise breakfast foods. Plus, you still have the God-forsaken lunch rush to get through, where the store is taken over mostly by Shujin students since, as you've  heard, their own co-op and vending machines are always sold out. You totally understand—you did the same when you were their age—but it would be nice if you had someone to help out with all the customers. Management always says you're  the only one available this early, though, since you have night classes and many of your colleagues are high schoolers working part-time: a perfect storm that ends with you getting struck by lightning. Sometimes you wonder if this insignificant little convenience store would still be open if you weren't  around. Basically, you deserve a raise.

Enthalpy and entropy may be used in tandem to find Gibbs free energy, which is a thermodynamic potential that describes the energy associated with a chemical reaction that can be used to do work.

God, you really hate chemistry.

The time in between rushes is what you usually use for studying. Your routine everyday is usually the same, unless, by some lovely miracle, you don't have to work or a professor cancels class. First is opening the store, then you head to Leblanc to study for a few hours. That cafe has a great atmosphere for concentrating on your work and it's close to home. Seeing that it's tucked into the quiet backstreets of Yongen-Jaya, not many people know about it. You like to call it your chic little treasure. Of course, the great coffee is a bonus, but you're  a bit embarrassed by how much you've  spent there. That's a secret that absolutely cannot get out. From there, though, you head to school. It's a bit of a commute, but you like the time I get to yourself. No one bothers you on the train and you don't particularly stand out unless you really try to. You find myself comforted by those environments. After all that, you finally go home. It's tiring as hell, but money is money. You can't pay the rent with your accolades.

Your eyes felt strained from the textbook, so you put it away for now. There's still little to no business aside from the occasional elderly person looking to buy cat food or pastries for their grandchildren. Truth be told, you learn a lot about people from the way they shop, especially since most of the people you get in here are sworn regulars. You know this one disgruntled-looking office worker has a daughter who loves these "homemade" chocolate chip cookies we "bake fresh" every day. Yeah, it's just a microwave, but you're  not up for explaining that to a tired dad just looking to put a smile on his daughter's face. There's also this guy at Shujin who buys yakisoba here a lot. You don't know anything about him but there's a girl who obsessively follows him. He never notices her since she's always just barely tucked away, but you always do. It's kind of creepy, but your bosses would probably scold you for telling him. You can already hear them droning on: "It might drive away business."

And you wouldn't have any business to run without me, you want to say back.

Beyond the mundaneness of it all, there is one thing that has piqued your interest. This pervert teacher confessed to doing a whole bunch of shady shit. Apparently, this group that goes by The Phantom Thieves of Hearts forced him to confess. A few days before it all went down, you found a calling card as you were cleaning up. It was a flashy thing, but it was a little bit of thrill in your monotonous life, so you've  treasured it. Still, you wonder how they managed to do it—was it blackmail or something else sinister like that? Maybe it was just the pressure of it all. But going off your past experiences with him (he came by every so often as all the teachers do), he was pompous as hell, not to mention annoying, entitled, and belligerent. A bunch of kids were dubiously bruised, and you even heard one of the students tried to harm themselves. For the staff to not care about their students this much, the corruption must run so deep it was built into the very walls of that school. So, no matter the methods, it was more of a relief to know a predator like him no longer had access to such vulnerable victims anymore. You don't know if the Phantom Thieves are real, but for now, you'll  cheer them on to tackle evil the police can't get to on their own. You understand  vigilante justice is looked down upon by the eyes of the law, but just look at some of the heroes we champion like Batman and Robin Hood: all of them are celebrated figures.