Chapter Text
That Saturday, Momoi found herself back at the Fujimaki library. Sure, there were other libraries she could use, or other programs she could observe, but… Ah, who was she kidding? She wanted to see that cute librarian again.
It was difficult to get in the door, there were so many toddlers waiting outside the story room. As Momoi walked in, the friendly assisstant--Takao--waved at her from the doorway. “You’re here for storytime, right? C’mon in and take a seat.”
Momoi walked gingerly and stood against the back wall of the room. All the kids swarmed in and sat on the floor on a big rug--she noticed that Takao sat on the floor and was immediately surrounded by preschoolers. Eventually one with green hair and glasses won the coveted spot in his lap, while a larger tow-haired boy firmly clutching a large plushie pineapple complained that he was older, so he should get to sit on Kazu-sensei’s lap.
She laughed at the spectacle then looked down when she felt a tug on the hem of her skirt. “May I sit next to you, please?” asked a boy with huge blue eyes. He couldn't have been more than two and a half.
Momoi melted. “Of course you can!” she smiled warmly. An older woman with his same eyes looked on approvingly at her grandson’s manners as he clambered into the chair.
“Okay everyone, it's time to get started!” called a voice at the front of the room. Momoi turned her attention to the front--
And burst into giggles. Kiyoshi had snuck in without her noticing despite his size and had settled in at the front. He was wearing a huge red-and-white striped hat and had painted his face to look like a cat’s. Once he’d gotten the attention of the little ones, he launched into a lively reading of The Cat in the Hat, complete with silly voices, acting out the funniest bits, and asking the kids what might happen next.
Momoi glanced at the little boy next to her. He was leaning so far forward on his chair she was afraid he might fall off, attention riveted on the librarian.
Kiyoshi moved from story to story, with little songs and dances in between. He was a natural with the kids, always smiling and patiently answering their questions when they piped up in the middle of the story. Momoi jotted down a couple of his more successful techniques at drawing children’s focus back to the story, thinking about how she could use those same techniques in the classroom.
A lot of the moms were very focused on Kiyoshi as well. Momoi refused to think about why that bothered her, or why it made her feel better that Kiyoshi smiled even brighter when he met her eye while they sang “If You’re Happy and You Know It.” Kiyoshi was handsome, yes, but Momoi was focusing on school. This was a research opportunity, not a mixer.
Maybe if she told herself that enough times she might believe it.
Still, as storytime finished and the kids started streaming out into the rest of the library to pick out picture books, she blushed just a bit when Kiyoshi made a beeline over to her, only stopping along the way to take off his silly hat and to speak to the toddlers who came up to thank him for the stories. He flopped into the plastic chair next to her--it creaked alarmingly--and gave her a sunny smile. His face paint was starting to crack and smear, and his hair was damp with sweat from his antics
“What did you think?” he asked.
“You’re amazing,” Momoi replied. “With the kids, I mean. They adore you and Takao.”
Kiyoshi grinned and ducked his head. “We adore them too. They’re sweet. Storytime is my favorite part of the job.”
He opened his mouth to say something else when the assistant manager--Kasamatsu, his name was?-- poked his head into the room. “We need more hands at circ,” he barked, then disappeared.
Kiyoshi gave Momoi a rueful smile. “Duty calls.”
Momoi spoke before she even thought about it. “What time do you get off? Do you want to go get coffee?”