Chapter Text
Toshiro parked his car in the field’s parking lot. He promised Kiyo that he’d be there on time to watch their first game that determined if they made their try-outs, but his schedule was unpredictable. Sometimes parents wanted to speak to him after class, or the children were waiting in the auditorium to be picked up at dismissal time.
By the time he showed up to the field, it appeared the game was over.
He mouthed a quiet fuck under his breath, leaning against the head rest. He turned his head, watching all the rowdy teens clear out of the soccer field with their parents. Kiyo was among them, speaking with friends, dispersing and jogging to the front door.
Toshiro unlocked it, Kiyo sliding in the passenger’s seat.
“Well?” Toshiro asked with a tiny smile. Kiyo grinned, and that meant good news.
“I made the team!” They exclaimed. Toshiro smiled wider, giving them a hug.
“Great, I’m proud of you,” he said, ignoring the smell of sweat and grass on them from running around for an hour and a half. “Knew you’d make it. I’m sorry I was late.”
Kiyo pulled away, shrugging. “‘S cool,” they replied. “So I start next week.”
Toshiro started up the car. “You’re okay with walking?”
“My friends walk,” Kiyo said. “No offense, I don’t want them to see that I’m getting a ride all of the time. So really, it’s fine.”
Toshiro snorted. “Just because your friends walk home by themselves doesn’t mean you have to. If they—”
“Jump off a bridge? Maybe.”
Toshiro glared, sighing. “I need to go grocery shopping.”
“Oh, can I come?!” Kiyo asked, eagerly buckling their seatbelt. They always pretended to act nonchalant when around their friends, but the young, bubbly child Toshiro spent the past several years raising would come out.
“You want to help me do shopping?” Toshiro asked, skeptical. “Sure you don’t want to hang out with your friends tonight?”
“Nah,” Kiyo said, pulling their phone out. “I want tteokbokki and you never get the right one I want.”
Toshiro couldn’t argue with that. He backed out of the parking lot and drove to the grocery store. He liked to come here on weekdays during late evenings because the market wasn’t as packed as it was on weekends. It was quieter, surrounded by pleasant regulars who had the same schedule as he did.
Kiyo grabbed a cart and darted through the automatic doors, insisting that they already knew what they needed for the house. Toshiro let him, opting to get a smaller shopping basket at the front entrance.
They were old enough that Toshiro didn’t have to worry about them getting lost, thirteen years old, close to fourteen in a few months. Still, Toshiro was alert just in case they didn’t meet at the cash registers in a certain amount of time.
In the meantime, he was able to focus on shopping. He stopped at the produce section, examining his options carefully. He liked to take his time running down the list, if the items he chose were in good condition most importantly. When he was finished dumping vegetables in his basket, he migrated to the next aisle, his eyes locked on the display of instant ramen, taking Kiyo’s favorite from the shelf.
He dropped a few in his basket, turning around. His head was kept low, so he missed the person that was walking full speed in the opposite direction, bumping right into them.
Some of Toshiro’s stuff toppled out of his basket, an “oof!” coming from the stranger in front of him.
Apologizing immediately, Toshiro bent down to pick up his belongings, and his hand touched the strangers. He brought himself to look at their face, tilting his head. He was greeted with the brightest gold eyes he’d ever seen.
“Sorry about that,” the man’s smooth voice said shortly, nearly overlapping Toshiro’s own apology. Toshiro’s eyes trailed over the slant of his nose, strong, stubbly jawline, willing himself to keep his eyes on the gorgeous stranger’s. “Let me just…” He scooped up Toshiro’s groceries, gently putting them back in his basket.
“Oh you don’t—” Toshiro started, but he was already dropping it all back in the basket. “H-Have to…”
The kind stranger laughed, still in Toshiro’s space, uncomfortably so, even though he was done helping him.
“No, I want to. You were occupied and I should’ve slowed down,” he said. Toshiro just flashed a polite smile.
“I wasn’t looking either. It’s my fault.”
The man’s smile grew wider. “Hey, if you mind me asking, what’s your—”
“Mom!” Kiyo’s voice rang from the next aisle over. Thankfully they didn’t get themselves lost again. Toshiro’s attention was no longer on the stranger standing before him, turning around.
“Excuse me,” Toshiro nodded at the man, quickly turning to follow the sound of Kiyo’s voice. He left the stranger behind without a single glance, finding Kiyo holding packs of tteokbokki in their hands. With how many they’ve snagged it might as well have been the whole row.
“Found ‘em!” They said, dropping all of them in their cart along with their usual groceries.
Toshiro scanned the cart, checking if there were things Kiyo snuck in there. Of course, there was. He plucked some snacks from the cart, handing them back to a pouting Kiyo.
“Put these back,” he chided. It wasn’t that he couldn’t afford it, with the money Maizuru sent him from back home he had more than enough to keep them fed as it was only just the two of them and their kitten living at home—but if he let them indulge too much in snacks that would be the only thing they’d ever want to eat.
When Kiyo begrudgingly returned the guilty pleasure snacks, they returned to the cash register to check out.
The stranger Toshiro met completely slipped from his mind, because he hadn’t crossed paths with him again on the way out of the supermarket afterward.
After dinner, Toshiro washed the dishes, finding Kiyo outside on the balcony, slurping on an ice pop. Toshiro joined them, watching the world go by from their quaint spot.
“Sometimes I like to wonder what other people are doing at the same time as us,” Kiyo said. The cold breeze drifted through. “Is it possible for everyone to be asleep?”
“I don’t think so,” Toshiro said, with not much contemplation involved. “Everyone on this planet has things to do. Sleep, eat, work, go to school.”
“And hanging out?” Kiyo questioned, looking at Toshiro. “Don’t you ever hang out, kaa-san?”
Toshiro ruffled their head, frowning. “What is that supposed to mean?”
Kiyo snorted. “Nothing,” they said, slurping at their ice pop.
“Out with it,” Toshiro pressed.
Kiyo grumbled, reluctant to respond. “I’m just saying, I don’t see you hang out with friends much.”
Toshiro didn’t think much of it. His co-workers were lovely. He liked being around Kabru and Namari, and sometimes Falin and Marcille when he spoke with them. He wasn't the only co-worker with a child to look after, but it still felt isolating he couldn’t always hang out with them after work. They understood of course, as they could imagine how busy it would be. Kiyo went to middle school, joined the local soccer team, sometimes needing to be carpooled to and back from school.
“Who’s going to take care of you if I’m out all of the time?” Toshiro asked with a scoff.
“I’m not a kid anymore,” Kiyo huffed. Toshiro would beg to differ. The calls he got from their teachers when they were stirring up trouble with their classmates, the apologies he had to give to the parents when they refused to apologize for their antics. If they were any more mature, Toshiro wouldn’t have the contacts of Kiyo’s teachers saved on his phone.
“Right,” he muttered. “Did you finish your homework?”
When Kiyo didn’t respond, Toshiro nudged them on the shoulder. “Enough playtime. Go.”
“Yeah, yeah…” Kiyo groaned, entering the house.
Toshiro chuckled, staying on the balcony for a while longer. Then he went back inside, feeding Hachi, as she was awake and hungry for both food and attention.
He had time on his hands, lounging on the couch and flipping through channels until he found something worth watching, Hachi curled up in his lap and fast asleep.
An ad was playing as he nibbled away at his ice pop. A dating ad. He felt himself recoil, the sultry commercial promoted their anonymous dating app. Find your match today, and you wouldn’t have to worry about a breach of privacy unless you choose to reveal yourself to your partner! Focus on developing the perfect, unbreakable bond with your soulmate at Hide ‘N Seek.
Toshiro changed the channel, stopping on a soap opera. For some reason, the ad was engraved into his brain. Giving into his curiosity, he tore his eyes away from the tv and picked up his phone from the couch.
The ad was free at least, so he downloaded it. He should’ve known it was a front, as they asked him to sign up for a free trial to become a member, then pay after the thirty day trial period was over. He almost decided it wasn’t worth it, his fingers hovering over his screen at the registration portal.
Toshiro convinced himself he wouldn’t use the app for more than a day at best, let alone thirty, so it couldn’t hurt to check it out. If he canceled the trial before the period was over then they wouldn’t bill him either. He inputted his information, choosing to be anonymous, so his profile would have limited information on display to other members. He chose the username coleoptera—and it was available.
While anonymous limited features like location, name, and the use of photos, he could still put a bio and if they’re looking for a relationship. He wasn’t good at those, either. He typed, pronouns: any. 34. Quite fond of nature and insects. (By the way, I am a single parent and I don’t know what I’m looking for and why I am here).
He was positive this bio was going to drive away all the potential matches out there, but he went with it anyway. As he expected, the public profiles weren’t very appealing to him at all, and the ones who did match with were just looking for hookups, going as far enough as to send nudes without a single hello.
Just as he decided he had enough of this ridiculous app, he got a message from someone he matched with earlier when he was mindlessly swiping through his options in his area by the name of wingedlion.
He would’ve shot up from his seat if it weren’t for Hachi sleeping in his lap, careful not to startle her awake. Toshiro examined the profile. Their profile was anonymous, the only difference was that they had a profile picture of a sunset, with their bio reading: thirty-seven. Pronouns: he/him. Just a guy with big dreams in a big world. I’m looking for a relationship, someone to be part of my world, but if you wanna be friends, that’s cool too.
The message read: hey there. do you like just beetles or other insects too?
Toshiro completely tuned out the sound of the television, carefully typing a response.
Coleoptera: I studied entomology in college, so no, not just beetles. I like all kinds of insects.
Wingedlion: Dope.
Wingedlion: What’s your favorite thing about beetles though????
Coleoptera: Well um
Coleoptera: The helmets that samurai wear resemble stag beetles, they’re called kuwagata.
Wingedlion: Really?
Coleoptera: Yes. They also fight other males to get the attention of their mates. It’s an example of their strong courage. I could say more, but I’d prefer not to bore you.
Wingedlion: this is the most interesting I’ve heard all day
Wingedlion: trust me when I say this lol
Wingedlion: I feel like people just aren’t interested in talking these days y’know
Coleoptera: Oh, I definitely agree with you on that.
Wingedlion: I wonder what happened to the joy of conversation. People don’t like it when I just wanna talk. Of course I’m down to do other things, but man. But I think it’s cute you like beetles.
Coleoptera: Thank you.
Wingedlion: So, you got any other cool insect facts?
Toshiro thought he’d spend only an hour before getting scared off the app, but he ended up speaking with wingedlion for hours. His wish to stay anonymous was something wingedlion respected, and it didn’t seem like he was interested in sharing too much about himself either. They just parroted off each other’s knowledge about insects and a few jokes were thrown in that had a smile creeping up Toshiro’s face.
Soon enough, they were telling each other goodnight. Going to bed, Toshiro could only think about the friend he made on the app and how kind to him wingedlion was, finding the exhaustion that came with the day he had fading away.
He actually looked forward to talking to wingedlion again, too, which was a shocking revelation.