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"So, Kou-chan, when do I get to meet your mystery man?" Koushi's coworker and personal pain-in-the-ass Oikawa Tooru asked out of the blue as walked up the stairs of the art building one February morning.
Koushi tried not to spit his coffee all over the stairs; Daichi had made it for him. Koushi swallowed his coffee, looking anywhere but at Tooru. He made eye contact once Tooru cleared his throat. "What makes you think I have a mystery man?" Koushi asked in return, wincing internally at his dumb retort.
Tooru's eyes flicked between Koushi's face and the blue fluorite necklace peeking out from under Koushi's scarf. "Really Kou-chan?"
"Yeah, that was a pretty bad cover on my part," Koushi agreed as he attempted to maneuver around Tooru.
Tooru, however, wasn't having it and grabbed Koushi's arm. "Nuh-uh, not so fast Kou-chan," he said. "I wanna know all about this mystery man."
Koushi exhaled very audibly through his nose. "Let go of my arm, please," Koushi whined. "I'm going to be late for class."
"Your class doesn't start for two hours. Just tell me a few things about him," Tooru pressed, releasing Koushi's arm. "I just want to know what kind of guy you're into."
Koushi frowned; for obvious reasons, he couldn't tell Tooru that Daichi was a witch. Well, he didn't have to tell Tooru the whole truth, did he? "His name is Daichi," Koushi said. "Sawamura Daichi."
"Good start, what else? What does he do?"
"He has his own business." Koushi added, "He runs a shop."
"Oh, really?" Tooru pressed. "What kind of shop?"
"It's, um, kind of a home goods store?" Koushi tried.
"A home goods store?" Tooru parroted. "For a million yen, is that your final answer?"
Koushi almost pushed Tooru down the stairs. Almost. Instead, Koushi opted to tousle Tooru's perfectly styled hair and revel in the offended screeches that Tooru emitted.
"Rude, Kou-chan!" Tooru snapped. "Here I am taking an interest in your life and you do this to me!"
Koushi gave Tooru his best, most wide-eyed innocent look. This in turn got Koushi a hair mussing of his own. This time, he did spill a bit of his coffee. They called a momentary truce and ran to the nearest bathroom to get paper towels.
"Okay, yeah, I did deserve that," Koushi admitted after he and Tooru cleaned up the spill. They made their way up to the floor with their classrooms, pausing only for Koushi to open the door to the room he used.
"You never did answer my question about what kind of store your precious Daichi ran, by the way," Tooru said, dumping the coffee stained paper towels into a nearby trashcan.
Ah hell, Koushi had thought that Tooru would have dropped the Daichi conversation by now.
"He runs a New Age store," Koushi mumbled, setting his bag down on the desk.
Tooru raised an eyebrow.
"You know, a store that sells crystals and the like," Koushi explained. When Tooru didn't respond, Koushi added, "Okay, the staring is kinda creeping me out. Why are you staring at me?"
"Koushi, you're telling me that you're dating the owner of a hippie healing store," Tooru deadpanned. "Of course I'm going to stare."
Koushi could feel his face go red. "It's not that bad," Koushi said. "Daichi knows what he's doing."
"If you say so," Tooru said, pulling off his coat and scarf.
Koushi mirrored the action, turning away from Tooru. "His appearance is well kept, if that helps any."
Tooru let out an unattractive snort, "Oh yeah, knowing that Mister Metaphysical has a well kept appearance really helps, Kou-chan."
"If you don't believe me, why don't you come with me to meet him, then?" Koushi offered. "Daichi's been asking about my friends recently."
"Not today, I have a meeting with Iwa-chan."
"A meeting, or a date?" Koushi teased.
"There is a difference, you know," Tooru admonished as he folded his jacket over his arm. "I can do tomorrow if that works for you. It is a Saturday."
"Tomorrow works just fine, now go get ready to teach your class, you slacker," Koushi said.
Tooru stuck his tongue out at Koushi and walked out of the room. Koushi sat down on his desk and exhaled slowly. This was going to be fun to explain to Daichi.
***
"My coworkers have started asking about you," Koushi commented that night. He and Daichi were in the break room, Koushi perched on the counter top watching while Daichi scooped their dinner onto paper plates. Daichi was expecting a late night delivery and Koushi had volunteered to stay with him. As a result, they were having takeout in the break room. "Well, coworker," Koushi amended. "Tooru's really the only one who ever asks about my love life."
"Oh?" Daichi asked without looking up. "What kind of questions?"
"The usual," Koushi replied. "Who is he? What does he do? How stable are his finances?" Koushi flashed Daichi a playful grin and teased, "How tight are his muscles?"
Daichi threw Koushi an amused look, "And?"
"I told him that you were a small business owner," Koushi said. "And that you had the nicest thighs I've ever seen in my entire life."
Daichi chuckled and leaned against the counter. "Is that all?"
"No, I told him that you're a witch and you run a magic shop," Koushi drawled, eye roll accentuating his sarcastic tone.
Daichi smiled at Koushi as he passed Koushi a plate, "So only the basics, then."
He took the plate and chopsticks from Daichi and balanced them on his lap. "Of course, I can't tell Oikawa I'm dating a witch. He'd think I'm nuts."
"You've got a point there," Daichi admitted. "Seeing as how you reacted when you found out, and given what you've told me about him, I can only imagine that Oikawa's reaction would be worse."
"Well, more dramatic, anyway," Koushi said, digging into his food. "He was thoroughly unimpressed when I told him that you ran a New Age shop."
"You really need to find a new way to describe my shop," Daichi groaned. "Calling it 'New Age' does absolutely no justice to my humble business."
"Okay, what would you call it then?" Koushi asked. "Can't call it a magic shop, no one would believe me."
"I'll come up with something for you to tell your friends," Daichi said.
The two fell into a comfortable silence as they ate. After a few minutes, Koushi set his plate to the side and sighed a bit. "It just feels a little weird that I can't really tell him the truth," Koushi admitted.
"Well, you didn't exactly lie when you told him that I was a small business owner," Daichi pointed out. "I am technically a small business owner. And as far as normies know—and I hate that I'm saying this out loud, so you know—this is just a fancy crystal store."
"That's true," Koushi said. "It's just… I've never had to duck around the truth this much, you know? I'm not lying, but it feels weird keeping it secret. Especially since my explanations have apparently given him a bad impression of you."
"How about you bring Oikawa by the shop and have him meet me," Daichi offered. "That way he can meet me, see the shop, and you can stop worrying about what your friend will think of your significant other. "
"I was planning on bringing him by tomorrow, actually," Koushi admitted.
"Sounds good to me," Daichi said, pressing a kiss to Koushi's temple. "I'd be happy to play host tomorrow for a little bit."
"Maybe ask Kuroo to be on his best behavior too?" Koushi asked.
Daichi laughed, "Koushi, I can do magic, but it'll take a lot more than a few spells to make that happen."
***
"Interesting color scheme," Tooru drawled, eyeing the mint green paint and the wisteria trim. "Not the color combo I would have picked, but it definitely… stands out."
The pair were standing outside the shop, not moving towards it, but just staring. Koushi recognized the trepidation on Tooru's face. He had been similarly weary of the shop not too long ago. It had Koushi a little on edge, if he was honest with himself.
"Be nice Tooru," Koushi admonished. "He's a business owner, not an artist. He doesn't have an eye for that sort of thing."
"He's dating you, he doesn't have an excuse," Tooru retorted.
Koushi grumbled something crass under his breath and shoved Tooru towards the onyx colored door. Tooru snickered at Koushi's attempts to make him move and slowly began to go limp in Koushi's arms.
"Can you be less of an asshole?" Koushi snapped.
"I could," Tooru said before going completely limp and dragging Koushi down to the sidewalk.
Koushi let out a long string of curses as he lay on the frozen sidewalk, pinned under Tooru's dead weight. Tooru was in the middle of making a flippant comment about Koushi watching his language when the door to the shop swung open. Daichi poked his head out of the shop and grinned at the sight before him.
"So, I take it I should make something warm for the two of you?" Daichi asked.
"That would be lovely," Tooru said, charisma on high as he pulled himself and Koushi off of the sidewalk. He all but skipped over to Daichi and held a hand out to him. "Oikawa Tooru, nice to meet you."
If Daichi was in any way affected by Tooru's over exuberance, he didn't show it. He grasped Tooru's hand and gave it a quick shake. "Sawamura Daichi," he replied. "Koushi's told me a lot about you."
"Everything negative you've heard about me is a dirty lie," Tooru said.
Daichi humored him, "Of course it is. Well, come on in, and I'll make you something warm."
Koushi and Tooru followed Daichi inside. Koushi watched Tooru eye up the shop as he peeled off his coat and scarf. Judgment radiated off of Tooru like heat. Koushi nudged him in the side before he could get a good look at any of the nearby book titles. Tooru glanced sidelong at Koushi, taking note of Koushi's imploring look.
"This is a lovely shop, Sawamura," Tooru called. "It's very quaint. Not sure how I feel about the exterior, though."
"Please, call me Daichi," Daichi called from the break room. "And I didn't have much of a say in the matter. It was those colors when I signed for the building. I'll ask about painting it a different color during the summer."
"Aw, but I like those colors," Koushi whined. "Also, where's Kuroo?"
"I'll keep that in mind then." Daichi said as he reappeared with three mugs of hot coffee. He handed them off to Koushi and Tooru before wrapping an arm around Koushi's shoulders. "As for Kuroo, I have no idea. I guess he's running late today."
"Tell me a little about your shop," Tooru said.
"Well, I've had this shop for about a year now," Daichi said. "I've got a steady flow of regulars, and…" Daichi trailed off.
"What is it?" Koushi asked.
"Here comes trouble," was the only warning Daichi gave.
Trouble burst through the door in the form of Tanaka Ryuunosuke and Nishinoya Yuu, the normies who were convinced Daichi's wares would grant them magical powers. Koushi could feel himself physically dying a little inside. Daichi effortlessly slipped into business mode, removing his arm from around Koushi.
"Hey Dai-san, Suga-san!" Nishinoya called. "We’re only dropping by for a few minutes today."
"Not here for a long round of Magical Roulette today?" Daichi joked as he moved behind the counter.
"Not today, Dai-san," Tanaka called from where he was examining a bowl of polished stones.
Daichi let him examine the stones in peace, turning his attention to Nishinoya, who presented him with a new item every minute or so. Koushi usually found this game entertaining, but with Tooru standing beside him with a mixture of concern and judgment on his face, Koushi was extremely nervous. After five minutes, Tanaka grabbed a medium sized amethyst crystal and held it up.
"What about this Dai-san?" Tanaka asked.
"It's a normal, albeit larger than average amethyst," Daichi said. "It will not grant you any magic powers."
Tanaka seemed crestfallen, staring at the crystal in his hand. "Are you sure this won't give us powers?" Tanaka asked after a minute.
Koushi about had a stroke. Tooru did not look impressed.
"I'm positive," Daichi said. "It will, however, give you clarity and focus. It's 3375 yen, but I'll sell it to you for half of that."
"Sold," Tanaka said, handing over the exact change before he and Nishinoya ran out.
"Do you normally get customers like that?" Tooru asked as the door swung shut.
"Every now and again, yeah," Daichi said, placing the money in the register. "They're harmless though. They seem to think that New Age means magic powers."
Koushi let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding in. That was a nice cover on Daichi's part.
Tooru let out a noncommittal hum. He wandered the shop, examining the wares until he came to a stop in front of the counter and Daichi. "Well, you seem like a reliable enough individual," Tooru said at long last. "You've got a good head on your shoulders, and you don't seem like you've let all of this," he said with a gesture to the entire shop, "get to you."
Koushi was so close to relaxing, thinking that he and Daichi had managed to navigate the day, when the Master of Bad Luck himself pawed the front door open. Trotting through the front door, in cat form, was Kuroo Tetsurou. And he had not realized that Tooru was standing right there.
"Ugh, you would not believe how cold it is out there," Tetsurou complained as he stretched. "Sorry I'm late, Boss Man. The old lady down the block was giving away free samples and it's a lot easier to get more of them if you're a sweet, nondescript alley cat."
Tooru made a strangled noise and dropped the coffee mug. The dull thump caught Tetsurou's attention and he snapped his head to stare in Tooru's direction. Everyone in the room froze. Koushi understood why Tetsurou had picked on him for weeks after he found out about magic; the look on Tooru's face was priceless.
"Koushi, Koushi the cat is talking," Tooru said. "Koushi why is the cat talking? Koushi why is the cat talking!?"
Koushi and Daichi both opened their mouths to reply, but Tetsurou beat them to the punch.
"Well, guess the cat's out of the bag," he said, shifting into human form with a lazy grin.
Tooru blinked once, twice, three times before he retreated to a corner of the store, muttering about needing to sit down.
Tetsurou followed, calling, "Come on, that was funny!"
Daichi buried his face in his hands with a groan. Koushi walked over to Daichi and gave his shoulder a reassuring squeeze. "He'll come around to it," Koushi said. "He believes in aliens, witches aren't too far off, I guess."
"You're taking this pretty well," Daichi commented.
Koushi shrugged, "Guess that's one less secret to worry about."
From a corner, Tooru shouted, "Koushi! Your boyfriend has a lot of explaining to do!"
Once Tooru calmed down, Koushi would talk to him about what had happened. He would be more than happy to share the truth with his friend.