"L/N-KUN, go check if the electrical wiring in here has any problems." jinpachi circles an area on the map before handing it to him. the paper crinkles in y/n's hands as he inspects it. "you always give me the weirdest jobs, ego-san."
"it's what assistants like you are supposed to do. take it or leave it."
"you literally made me pay someone to do your laundry yesterday."
"so what? you wanna do them instead?" jinpachi clicks his tongue. "mind you, i had to pay four thousand yen out of my own pocket for that. it wasn't even a kilogram."
"i think that last sentence says a lot about you, ego-san."
jinpachi stands up and pushes y/n out the door,
"get out."
before slamming it on his face.
surveying the map given to him, y/n tilts his head. "ego-san's office isn't even drawn in here."
☆
the longer y/n wanders in the dormitory, the more unfamiliar the map becomes.
"i wish i paid someone to deliver my phone here instead of a laundry service for ego-san..." y/n mumbles.
as his eyebrows are furrowed together, y/n goes to resume his journey until—
"what are you doing?"
y/n jerks his head around, his e/c hues meeting bright yellows. y/n scans the male before him and notices he's wearing a bodysuit with black with grey stripes, a pentagon of the number 265 and the letter "z" embedded on his shoulder. y/n assumes he would be one of the players.
"oh! you're that glasses guy's sidekick!"
"glasses... what?"
his doe-like eyes crinkle as he grins at y/n. "i'm bachira meguru!" he leans closer, and y/n takes a step back. "what's that on your hands?"
"a map." y/n holds it out to meguru, pointing at the circle jinpachi drew. "ego-san wants me to check the electrical wiring in this area, but i don't know where it is."
"an ultra mega outline of the prison!" meguru moves closer to y/n as he gawks, not noticing the way his dark curls tickle against y/n's face. "woah, what a coincidence! i'm actually going there right now!"
y/n shuffles away, and his eyes wince when meguru beams. he feels like he's being blinded by the sun. "...is that so?"
"let's go together!" hugging y/n's arm, the latter nearly stumbles from the sudden shift. meguru begins to lead them forward as he chirps, "i wanna know more about what kind of person that glasses guy has for an assistant! plus, having a map makes it feel like i'm on an adventure! a soccer side quest!"
oh, y/n recognises those words from when seishiro sometimes told him about the games he's playing.
"wouldn't that make me a npc?" y/n murmurs.
"a bit! but don't worry, i'll unlock your character after your quest!" meguru sing-songs.
y/n lets out a hum. "you'd get along well with one of my friends, he likes that gaming thing a lot. but hmm..." y/n ponders as he glances at meguru. "he'll probably be overwhelmed by your energy, though."
meguru halts, his hands still snaked around y/n's arm, making y/n nearly stumble yet again. "why? are you overwhelmed by it right now?" he tilts his head, large eyes staring up at y/n, and the latter doesn't know what to make of his sudden change in behaviour.
y/n follows to tilt his head. "why would i be?"
as if the last few seconds didn't happen, meguru's face lights up again. "never mind then!" he chirps, and goes to continue leading the duo. "what other stuff do you do for your boss?"
"assistant... stuff. he makes me refill his food stock and repair his coffee machine."
"well, that doesn't sound very assistant stuff."
"then, what's an example of a very assistant stuff?"
"i wouldn't know, i'm not an assistant."
"...you're quite the character, bachira-san."
meguru brings up a hand to his mouth to stifle a giggle, but the sound gets out anyway. "y/n, did you just make a joke?"
"i suppose i did if i got you to laugh."
"hah!" with a lopsided grin, meguru bumps his shoulder with y/n's. "maybe you and i should become a dynamic duo in the entertainment industry if soccer doesn't work out for us."
"what does that mean—"
"oh, look! we've arrived! i'm gonna warm up then do my drills, you wanna watch?" meguru cuts y/n off, and it seems to be working seeing how y/n closes his eyes to consider. "hmm... sure, i don't see why not."
"great!" meguru's grip on y/n's arm tightened for no other reason than to drag the latter to the bench faster. he's just an excited little bee.
meguru sits y/n down, as though he was tidying up a plushie on his bed.
"my dribbling is suuuper awesome! your jaw is gonna be on the floor when you see it." he puffs out his chest in pride, and y/n can feel the flicker of a smile on his face. "as long as it makes you happy."
meguru doesn't know which "it" y/n is referring to.
"of course! dribbling is a lot of fun! actually, soccer in general is a lot of fun! do you find it fun too, y/n?"
"i guess so...? if not then i wouldn't be ego-san's assistant, i think." y/n takes a few seconds to respond, but he still sounds unsure.
meguru's arms fall limp like noodles on his sides. "what do you mean by 'i think'? this can't be... does that mean you don't like soccer?"
"that's not exactly what i said," y/n lifts a finger to scratch his cheek, almost shy. "i've actually been wondering about it as well."
"whatever that means," meguru huffs, "then what do you like? besides soccer, i like dolphins."
"...i'm just not sure."
meguru furrows his eyebrows, frowning. "how about what do you not like? i don't like mozuku, it tastes funny."
y/n doesn't answer and averts his gaze. seeing this, meguru finds himself frowning even more.
meguru's sigh catches y/n's attention back on him as meguru stretches his body towards the ceiling.
"alright! let's find out what l/n y/n likes and doesn't like! for example...." he grins as he pulls the taller male to him, wrapping his arms around y/n's waist before he could fall. "dancing!"
y/n flails his arms around, confusion evident in his widened eyes. "bachira-san, i don't think i can do this! i've never done this before."
the melody of meguru's laughter enchants y/n's face in front of him. "me too! but we'll never know unless we try, right?"
meguru takes hold of y/n's hand, then settles his other hand on meguru's waist. the hair on his neck stands when meguru perches a hand on it.
meguru begins to sway them from side to side in a fit of giggles. y/n can feel the whisper of his humming that comes after it against his ear as their steps fall into an awkward rhythm, both of them don't even know if their positions are correct.
"it's like we're in a movie! the main characters in a coming-of-age."
y/n's shoulders visibly relax when he hears that. "that's really cute. do you like movies, bachira-san?"
"a bit!" meguru chirps as he twirls them around. "i rarely finish them, though. do you watch movies, y/n?"
"i can't remember the last time i did. also, you stepped on my foot just now."
"whoops, my bad!" meguru hums in thought when his snicker dies down. "maybe we should watch one soon."
"maybe. what would you recommend?"
"dunno, what coming-of-age movie has the main characters slow dance in a field of fake grass from a soccer training dorm?"
their little sequence of steps comes to a pause when y/n retracts his hand from meguru's waist to cover a chuckle.
meguru smiles and grabs y/n's hand away from his face to put it back on his waist. "i've been grinning at you all day—it's not fair if you hide your smile from me."
"i see." tugging the corners of his lips further, y/n retracts the same hand again but this time, it's to tuck meguru's black hair behind his ear. his touch is something gentle, like how a gardener would tend to a flower. "i hope you take that as an apology."
"i'm not easily swayed by such a small act!" meguru huffs, but the blush painting his cheeks betrays his words.
y/n lets out a small chuckle again as he tilts his head. "shall i sway you with a twirl instead and end this dance, then?"
meguru smirks. "depends, will you be back here tomorrow?"
"probably not if we're gonna dance again."
his teasing earns a pout from meguru. "why not?"
"i don't think i like dancing, it was hard not to mess up and step on your feet."
"sucks. i was planning on using you as a slow dancing practice mannequin." meguru slumps before grinning again. "then let's try something else! promise me you'll come and watch my match tomorrow, and then decide if you like how my dribbling is as cool as i think it is!"
meguru twirls them around the field before y/n can respond as his laugh whirls along with them. the fluorescent lights feel blinding against their closed eyes, and their feet are as light as a feather atop the faux grass. they're in an illusion of flying hand in hand with each other, and they don't want to wake up from it.
they only completely stop once meguru feels short of breath. he puts a hand to support his knee as he pants while the other is still linked with y/n's.
"that... huff... was so... huff... much fun. huff...." meguru wheezes, he glances at y/n, who's also silently panting, as he wipes beads of sweat from his face with a hint of a smile.
the moment y/n catches his eye, he stands in front of meguru and leans down, letting go of their hands to pull out a handkerchief from his pocket.
"about your previous offer," y/n says as he pats the handkerchief on meguru's temple. "i'll look forward to it."
after folding the handkerchief into a square, y/n sets it on the bench before he walks out and leaves.
"i'll be off, take care, bachira-san."
and after y/n leaves, the slight hang of meguru's jaw is replaced with a stupid grin.
☆
the hallway would be dead silent if it weren't for the echoes of y/n's footsteps.
"two hundred and sixty-five... z...." y/n mumbles to no one but himself. he's doing it so he won't forget which team meguru is on.
as he makes a turn, y/n glances at a familiar shade of sapphire eyes passing by and acknowledging him with a nod.
he moves on with his stride, but y/n halts, turning to stare at the back of his blue hair and sprout.
y/n blinks and continues to stride towards jinpachi's office.
☆
"well? is there a problem with the wiring or not?" jinpachi asks the moment he hears the click from his door.
y/n scratches his cheek. "what wiring?"
jinpachi stops whatever he's doing to stare at y/n. "are you kidding me? you forgot?" he glances down at his hands. "where the hell did the map go?"
"well."
jinpachi curses something that sounds suspiciously like "i should've picked up another ball freak." as he pinches the area between his eyebrows.
y/n ignores him. "can i take a look at who the players are?"
sighing, jinpachi pushes a stack of folders towards him. "you're not cut out for errand boy work, so do what you want."
"i thought i was an assistant?" y/n takes the folders anyway. "thank you."
"consider this as a promotion. congrats on actually becoming my assistant."
"i can't tell if you're joking or not, ego-san."
"good. now, don't bother me." jinpachi turns his back on y/n.
y/n eyes the stack, each of them is colour-coded and labelled. y/n bets that it was anri who did it. the woman deserves a promotion more than he does.
he draws his gaze to the folder at the top. seeing that it's not labeled as team z, y/n puts it aside until he finds it. and when he does, he opens it and the profile of a reddish-pink-haired man stares back at him with rose-coloured eyes.
he closes the folder, sorts them into a stack again, and exits from jinpachi's office.
—ADDITIONAL TIME!
it's only when y/n leaves the room that reality dawns on meguru.
'we were so close! he was so close! way too close! oh my god, i was the one who got him way too close! i literally just met him! i even asked him to... gosh.'
"oh, bachira! you're here too— woah, dude. why are you crouching like that?" yoichi walks over to meguru and crouches in front of him. "bro?"
"i hope this embarrassment kills me before i can face him tomorrow." meguru grumbles into his hands, smoke practically coming out of his ears.
—✮
slay