(a cute concept for a disastrous pairing… i did the best i could. happy pride month)

tags: office workers au, first kiss, unsettling fluff??? (it’s soushin)

More often than not, Shin didn’t know what to expect from Hiyori’s behavior in the morning.

He always greeted Shin in his own peculiar way, varying in tone and demeanor.

‘Good morning, Shin! It’s cold today, isn’t it?’

‘Why, hello there. You look sleepier than usual. Fell off the bed?’

‘Salutations, my friend. Would you like to accompany this humble gentleman to the convenience store?’

‘Oh, hey. I dreamed that I stabbed you in the heart. Your meat tasted like cotton candy, y’know?’

It was so unpredictable that it became predictable, somehow.

Therefore, when Shin arrived at work, he didn’t so much as flinch when someone popped confettis in the office. At 7:10 AM, he noted.

“Shin! Do you know what day it is?” An office worker should not be using a rainbow suit, Shin thought. Hiyori’s fashion sense was similar to that of an antiquated unicorn, perhaps with depression.

Frankly, Shin did not quite remember what year it was. He was still half-asleep. “No.”

He didn’t ask why — his friend would clearly explain it, anyway. The ominous grin said it all.

“It’s pride month! You know what that means?”

“You want us to… nevermind.” Shin sighed. “And you asked about the day, not the month.”

“It means the whole office is celebrating it!” He ignored the other man, just as expected. “We’ve decided to make a fun little attraction, too, to spice things up.”

Shin followed Hiyori’s finger, pointed to a direction he hadn’t paid particular attention to before.

Two tired-looking women were setting a small booth up, grumbling and struggling to get some wooden planks in place.

“Uh, they look like they could use some help.” Shin observed, looking at his friend. He didn’t dream of having enough strength to be useful, but the other man would certainly be able to provide assistance.

“So they do.” Hiyori was inspecting his nails. “Anyway, I didn’t just tell you about it for no reason.”

“…What do you mean?”

“You’ll be part of the main attraction, of course.” He finally looked up, grinning like a fox. “Everyone agreed with the idea.”

I blackmailed everyone into it, he likely left unsaid.

“And whose idea was it?”

“Mine, of course.” Hiyori didn’t even hesitate. Bitch.

Shin let out a groan that was buried somewhere deep in his soul, inside the metaphorical, medium-sized container called ‘sounds Hiyori curiously enjoys a lot’.

“What do I have to do?” He asked, resigned. He wasn’t anywhere near immune to the effects of an office life — the only seemingly unaffected person was his friend, naturally.

The other man pointed in the same direction as before, as if signalizing very polite words such as, just read, are you stupid?

One of his coworkers, the red-haired one, was searching through a few fancy utensils. She held a paintbrush up, then, writing something — in bold, beautifully terrifying letters — and Shin could only stare.

Kissing Booth.

He pointed to himself, then to the booth, then to Hiyori, then to the sky. Sure, he was an atheist, but he could use some divine guidance to get away from his friend. “Do you… really expect me to…”

“Why not?” Hiyori blinked slowly at the display, like a pleased feline. “It’s for pride month.”

“That doesn’t even make sense.”

“Only men will be allowed to kiss you.” His friend shrugged, as if it were utterly obvious.

“…Huh? What about women?”

“You want both? Scandalous.”

“Dude—”

“You won’t even need to work today, isn’t that great?” Hiyori promptly interrupted his words, as if shame were a foreign emotion to him. “You just have to sit there, look pretty, and kiss some hard-working gentlemen.”

He eyed the booth’s surroundings again, where a man was already suspiciously stationed.

“Would you call even that balding freak who hits on women three times younger than him a gentleman?”

“Would you?”

“Fuck no.”

“Then you have my response.”

Shin rolled his eyes. “You should work on giving simpler answers to people.”

“Your tiny brain can’t keep up, hm? No matter!” he gave Shin a closed eyed smile, grabbing his arm. The action was so stiff that Shin wondered if his limbs were okay, for a brief second. “It seems like the booth is ready for use.”

The younger man huffed, merely letting himself be dragged by the other — just like in various different occasions, no longer showing uneasiness. “What, you want to be the first one to get a kiss?”

They were in front of the wooden structure, now. “Obviously.”

Shin choked on his own spit.

He coughed multiple times into his fist, earning a few looks that varied from concerned to irritated. “You’re so… silly, Hiyori.”

In turn, the other man blinked owlishly. “Do I look like I’m joking?”

“You look like you want to murder someone in my family,” Shin frowned, uncertain, “I can’t tell.”

“I already did.”

“What?”

Hiyori’s smile grew. “Get behind the booth, Shin.”

Whenever his friend failed to elaborate, he knew it was a lost case. He couldn’t be blamed for trying, though, as he walked and positioned himself on the other side of the booth. “Hiyori.”

“Yes?”

He clicked his tongue. “You’re always trying to scare me. Is it funny?”

“Your reactions, yes, very much.”

Shin digested the information for a moment, trying and failing to feel like he wasn’t already conscious of it. “You’re kind of sick in the head.”

“Birds of a feather flock together.”

“I don’t know what you mean.”

“That’s a pity.” Hiyori smiled his little patronizing smile, tilting his head to the side. The knowledge that not even a rainbow suit managed to spoil his unfairly good looks was annoying, to put it simply — along with a feeling Shin couldn’t quite name. “So, where is my kiss?”

The younger man momentarily wondered if he had hallucinated such words, but Hiyori had an expectant expression on his face.

Shin suddenly felt like throwing up. “Do I really have to?”

“Shin. It’s pride month.”

“So what? You’re not even—”

His friend's face was suddenly closer to his.

Shin quickly came to the world-shattering realization that yes, he was, even.

Hiyori’s lips didn’t meet the place he expected them to, but rather… rested on his forehead. It originated a warm, unknown feeling within him — but not unwelcome, which made Shin want to vomit ten times more.

It was an action far too soft, far too unlike the Sou Hiyori he was accustomed to. A shiver ran down his spine; he was slightly perturbed, but ultimately curious.

“What was that?” He asked, eyeing the other man as soon as his face was a safe distance from him.

“A kiss,” Hiyori calmly stated, displaying a rare rosy tone on his cheeks, “since you wouldn’t do it yourself.”

“…You kissed my forehead.”

“Were you waiting for something else?” His face almost immediately went back to its normal state, which seemed to be a teasing, uncanny expression.

Shin didn’t respond, too busy looking at the walls.

“Shin.” the way Hiyori called his name was undeniably fond, bordering on something much more sinister. “Oh, Shin, you’re so…”

Shin found that he couldn’t bring himself to look at his friend anymore.

“You kissed me like a high schooler would.” He blurted out.

Hiyori slowly raised an eyebrow — he likely wasn’t expecting the snarky remark, not after that unusual affectionate gesture — and instantly let out a faux offended gasp.

“As if you would do any better.”

Shin’s eyes snapped shut in exasperation.

He wordlessly grabbed a mildly confused Hiyori’s cheeks, then, taking a moment to appreciate the raw emotion of triumph.

When Shin closed the distance between their lips, he tried his best to ignore the wide eyes that were most likely in front of his — he wouldn’t know, he wasn’t insane enough to kiss with his eyes open — and opted to focus on the hand that lifted his chin, instead.

The sensation was disgustingly good. That was a mortifying outcome, which Shin had definitely not signed up for, even though he had been the one to start this mess.

Kissing someone of the same gender could still be baffling during the pride month, it seemed — Shin disregarded the fact that they were in the middle of an office —, so he stepped back after feeling more than a few pairs of eyes on his skin.

Hiyori looked like he was a machine ready to fall apart at any given time.

Shin felt oddly relieved. “So?”

“…Oh, well.” Hiyori was visibly trying to compose himself — which he managed to do, after a few seconds —, although Shin would never forget his unconcealed, flustered surprise. “Now this booth becomes useless. Do you want to destroy it with me?”

Shin didn’t know why he had expected a proper response. With a sigh too fond for his liking, he murmured, “Sure.”