Work Text:
“Oi, Tomioka, what’s for lunch today?”
A mundane question and an inevitable one to hear in the morning. Nevertheless, from two desks away, it causes Kocho Kanae’s ears to perk in interest.
“Oh. I have a lot,” Tomioka Giyuu answers honestly, ignoring them despite the continued interest in his lunch.
Someone else laughs teasingly. “Let’s see! Did they let you have salmon today?”
“No,” he answers glumly. Kanae has to hold back a snort at how obviously dejected he sounded.
The other guys laugh, and then pressure Giyuu into showing his food. It’s bordering on invasive and Kanae thinks about interjecting at one point, but Giyuu relents before she could. Pulling out the cutest tupperware from his bag, he carefully opens the lid for their officemates to see.
Kanae doesn’t have to be close to them to see the contents, but it’s clear that the bento is a masterpiece, as usual. There’s chicken, tamagoyaki, cherry tomatoes, greens, and rice in the shape of a puppy--created and arranged with obvious tender loving care.
Their officemates move to shield their eyes with their hands at the brightness of it. “How the heck does it always look good, Tomioka?! It’s so pretty I’m a little scared to eat it!”
“I manage,” Giyuu mumbles as if the cuteness doesn’t matter to him, but the meaning is clear to Kanae: not eating his bento is probably scarier than destroying the cuteness of his meal.
Besides, Kanae thinks to herself, a little wickedly than warranted, I’m sure a certain someone already uploaded this on their bento Youtube channel this morning.
True enough: “Gosh. Your wife is at a different level, Tomioka! Don’t be mad, but I subscribed to her channel and followed her on Instagram and Twitter. Not a stalker, just a dedicated fan.”
“Me too! I love the little note she wrote in today’s caption-- the asshole better eat this or he’s never eating salmon again!”
Kanae takes a deep breath to compose herself as Giyuu deflates further in glumness. “It’s true, though,” he mutters quietly.
“Hey, how come she doesn’t show her face on her videos? I’ve been stalking all her content for just a little glimpse but all I see are her hands...”
“Yeah, those hands… they look gentle but they also look like they can strangle a bear.” A boisterous laugh. “No offense, Tomioka, but we’re not surprised that that’s your type.”
The unoffended Giyuu just makes a soft sound of agreement, and that’s all Kanae can take. She slaps her hand over her mouth so violently that the girl at the desk next to her jumps. She sends an apologetic look her way, but it’s all she can do to keep the loudest, ugliest laugh threatening to escape from her lungs to the five adjacent offices along the hallway, where someone’s sure to be stalking like the irate executive that he is--
“Oi, Kochou, the fuck are you smiling for?”
--Ah, right on cue. Kanae clears her throat and bows graciously. “Shinazugawa-san, good afternoon! Have you eaten lunch yet?”
Sanemi clicks his tongue so loud that everyone else in the office falls in a sullen silence. “Nah. If I had the time to waste, I’d probably loiter around my stupid co-worker’s table to drool over his lunch, too.”
The mob officemates instantly part from Giyuu’s desk, like the two sides of the Red Sea. Giyuu is left in the middle, blinking dully as Sanemi stomps his way to his desk with a contrived, ugly grimace.
“And you. You’re late,” he growls.
“Ah.” Unwitting of the terrified faces around him, Giyuu looks up at the wall clock and stands up. “You’re right. Sorry, Shinazugawa.”
“Tch. You better be,” Sanemi grumbles, watching Giyuu fumble for his things. “You don’t need those papers. Fuck’s sake--”
She isn't subtle when she rolls her eyes as Sanemi takes the lunchbox from Giyuu’s desk and practically drags him by the arm out of the office. To everyone else watching, it looks like another typical day of the accounting office's infamous Shinazugawa bullying Manager Tomioka over paperwork, but she knows better. Simply put, Giyuu is the type who works so hard he forgets to eat, and who better than ~his loving wife~ (with bear-killing hands, apparently) to remind him of that everyday?
Kanae can’t help the annoyed twitch of muscle under her eye. Can a girl feel any more single from watching you two being so lovey-dovey?!
At least they’re good for each other, so she can’t complain. She's never seen Giyuu this healthy before, nor has she seen Sanemi this lively.
“Kochou-san, can you let me know if I’m needed?” Giyuu calls from the threshold of the door.
Kanae grins. “Sure, Tomioka-san. You owe me a bento box though~”
Before Giyuu can open his mouth to say sure, I’ll ask him, Sanemi stops him with a scowl. “Like fuck he does. See ya.”
Despite the loud slam of the door and the simultaneous flinching in the office, Kanae calmly takes her seat and opens her phone to read a text message that’s sure to be there:
I’ll have Giyuu bring yours tomorrow. - Sanemi