Chapter Text
Raindrops pattered against the windows of the Spirits & Such office, distracting Reigen from his computer screen. He sighed. It had been a particularly wet April, and rain was never good for business; it dissuaded any passers-by from popping in out of boredom or idle curiosity. Serizawa was at class, and he’d sent Dimple and Tome out for the rest of the day to check on a job site scheduled for next week. Reigen went gloomily back to fiddling with the layout of his webpage. It was going to be a boring evening.
He perked up at a burst of sharp, strong knocks. Teruki entered from the hallway with the soft ding of the alert bell. He was perfectly dry from head to brightly-colored toe, despite the now-thundering rain outside – always nice to have psychic powers. But the smile he flashed Reigen’s way as he closed the door behind him was a ghost of his usual brilliant grin, washed out and wan, like the kid’s mood had failed to escape the downpour along with his clothes.
Reigen hid his concern behind a bright smile of his own. “Ah, Hanazawa-kun! To what do I owe the pleasure?”
Teruki shrugged, fingers tapping against his thigh. “Just… looking for something to do to spend the evening, something to occupy… I was hoping you might have a job you needed some extra help with?”
He looked so wistful, Reigen wondered if he was missing something about the date – he surreptitiously checked the calendar under the pretense of looking for nonexistent appointments. April 13th, no holidays, nothing particular written down. But Teruki needed a distraction…
Reigen tapped his chin, as though he’d remembered something. “Well, actually… are you sure you’re free all evening? Anything… special, going on later?”
Teru didn’t answer immediately. He was avoiding Reigen’s gaze, which was particularly odd coming from him. “Definitely nothing happening later.” He hesitated. “I’d thought… every year I think it might be different, that I might hear from-” He cut himself off with a rough scrub of his eyes. “I’m just… tired of hoping.”
Oh. Oh no… Reigen forced his smile to freeze in place, to hide the scorn, the disgust. Teruki was usually very flippant with any reference to his parents. If he couldn’t mention them at all now…
Reigen hid his phone under the desk and texted the Spirits & Such group message. He told Serizawa, Mob, and Tome to meet for dinner at the ramen place about ten blocks away - which was just a little too out of the way for it to be their usual place, but there was a pastry shop next door that sold cupcakes.
“Well!” He said cheerily, “You’re in luck – Spirits & Such got its one thousandth customer this morning! I’m taking all my employees out for ramen to celebrate.” He pointed at Teruki. “And that includes voluntary ones! Couldn’t have done it without ya.”
Teru’s eyes brightened instantly with enthusiasm and relief. “Can I get the chashu pork? The full order?”
Reigen winked, mentally waving goodbye to that week’s profits. “Just this once - it’s a special occasion, after all.”