Work Text:
Ever since Reigen had extended an invitation for Teruki to come by the office during summer vacation, the boy had ended up coming by almost every day that Mob worked. He always came after Mob, or with him, and apart from days when they had legitimate clients, both kept relatively to themselves, leaving Reigen alone to work - or more accurately, surf the web. The two would play board games, sometimes video games, work on summer reading, or Mob's summer homework, but mostly, they would talk. Or rather, Teruki would talk, and Mob would listen.
Today, however, was different.
The Kageyama family had gone on vacation for the weekend, and so it was a surprise to Reigen when Teruki chose to show up despite Mob's absence. Teruki had shown up just as he had any other day, and was now sitting and reading quietly instead of chatting as he normally would. It was somewhat unsettling how quiet he was.
"Mob won't be coming in to work today, you know," Reigen said, breaking the silence. He chanced a glance over at Teruki, engaged as he was with a book on the occult Reigen kept around as one of the few genuine artifacts he possessed.
"I know," answered Teruki without looking up. He turned a page of his book. "I thought maybe I could help anyway, since you need someone for real cases, right?"
Reigen wondered if it was a purposeful jab. He'd been under the impression Teruki didn't know the truth about him, despite the unlikelihood of that after spending so much time here. He searched the room, looking for something Teruki could help do, but came up empty-handed. Without Mob, he could see little reason as to why Teruki would want to come by unless he was being genuine. Teruki had all but ignored him until this point, and seemed almost bored of being there. Perhaps he was simply too polite to leave so quickly after arriving.
"I appreciate that, Teru, but you don't need to stay and keep me company. If there's something else you'd rather be doing, you don't have to hang around here. Nothing's going on today in this heat. It's way over 40 degrees. Might be grateful for a real ghost, if only to drop the temperature in here." Reigen checked his office thermostat. He'd taken to turning up the air conditioning since Teruki started coming by. "Oh, unless you don't have A/C?"
Another page turn. "My apartment has better A/C than here, actually."
This time, the jab at Reigen only left him grasping further for reasons to explain Teruki's presence. So, the A/C here was worse, there was nothing for him to do, and Mob wasn't even there. Unless... Reigen's eyes scanned over Teruki, as if the word would jump out in huge, neon letters. He, of all people, could empathize with the simple desire for company, to just be in the room as someone else so you wouldn't be alone.
He thought Teruki shouldn't have to feel that lonely at that young an age.
"What do you normally do during the summer, if your parents are gone?" Reigen asked, maintaining a casual air, trying not to pry. Not that it was a problem for Reigen, being used to Mob's usually silent presence, but now, in the quiet, he came to realize that Teruki had said more in three weeks than Mob ever had in three years, and yet had managed to reveal very little about himself as a person in all that time.
"Watch movies, usually." Finally, he closed the book and gave Reigen his attention. He sighed, leaning forward and placing the book on the coffee table in front of him. "My VCR broke, though, and I don't want to go to the movies alone today, so I thought I could come here. I can take the hint, though, if you want me to leave."
Reigen's eyebrows raised, but otherwise he didn't react. "I don't want you to leave, Teru."
"You don't?"
"No, of course not."
"Oh."
Silence retook them, and it was tenser than before, neither of them sure how to continue the conversation. Reigen no longer had doubts that Teruki wanted to stay, and Teruki no longer had doubts about reading the atmosphere. Having both been proven wrong, it took a moment to process the new information. Eventually, it was Reigen who broke the quiet.
"Don't kids use DVDs nowadays? Or digital recordings on their phones?"
"The films I like aren't on DVDs," Teru explained. "Almost none got converted over."
"I have a VCR," Reigen said, his hand on his chin as he tried to recall where he'd put it. "You can borrow it if I can just remember where it is..."
"Oh, I already went out and ordered a new one, but thanks." Teruki picked the occult book back up, but did not open it. It was merely something for him to keep his eyes off Reigen while speaking. "It's just that... When the older one broke, it ate the tape of my favorite film. You can't find that film anymore, not online, not DVD, not even bootleg! It's so obscure, and expensive if you can find it. I had to get this copy from a video rental shop that was closing."
Reigen's hand didn't leave his chin, but his brows did furrow in deeper thought. "Which film is it?"
Another sigh from Teruki, "You wouldn't know it."
"Are you sure?" Reigen challenged, and pushed off from his desk. He wheeled his chair over to a cupboard near his desk, the top half consisting of exposed bookshelves, while the bottom was a closed cabinet. He opened one of the little wooden doors. Inside were four rows of VHS cassettes, most of which had their original case sleeves, in varying conditions. Reigen moved aside for Teruki to see. "You were saying?"
Teruki set the occult book aside again slowly, completely forgotten and abandoned in favor of the small collection of films. "Whoa! Where did you get these?" He scrambled to Reigen's side, then squatted down to get a better look at the titles.
"Mostly garage sales, but a few are leftover from my mom. I watch a lot of old straight-to-videos."
"You do?"
"Sure, they're the only thing that gets me to sleep some nights. Modern films are too engaging, but it's so easy to tune out 'Attack of the Killer Tomatoes' or 'The Blob' or-"
"'Flying Dead Pig'!"
"...Or 'Flying Dead Pig', yes."
"No, I mean, 'Flying Dead Pig'!" Excitedly, Teruki pulled one of the films off the shelf to display what he'd found and stood so he could show Reigen, almost eye-level since Reigen was still seated. "This is the tape I was talking about, the one that got eaten up. It's- It's my favorite film!"
"Hm? Really? That film? That's-" Reigen could see the excitement in Teruki's eyes. The film must have mattered a lot to him. "What makes it your favorite?" Put bluntly, it was actually a terribly made film. Personally, Reigen could see the film's charm as something old and low-budget and campy, but he didn't see any reason why it might be Teruki's favorite.
"Well..." Teruki lowered the tape into his lap, his body looser than before. "My parents used to take me traveling with them on summer break. At least, before I came to live by myself. One summer we went to this place overseas called a drive-in theater." He held the tape box up for Reigen to see and pointed at the cover. "This was the film we saw."
Reigen took the film from him and gave it a once-over. The case was frayed and scratched, but he knew the tape itself was in perfect condition. It had clearly been well-loved by its previous owner. "It reminds you of them, doesn't it?" he asked.
Teruki nodded and smiled sheepishly to himself. "Sometimes, when I watch it, even if it's just for a little while, I can imagine my parents are there too, watching it with me. It's comforting." He clasped his hands together, shoulders drawn forward and for once, he actually seemed as young as he really was. "Could I... if you're not watching it anyway, could I borrow-"
"No."
Teruki looked up, and was met with Reigen's stern expression, staring right at him. "Oh... Sorry, I didn't mean-"
"No, Teru, because you can't borrow something that's yours." Reigen held the tape out to him. "You can keep it."
Teruki stared at him. "What? Really? Are you sure? This tape is really valuable."
"Doesn't matter. Whatever it's worth on eBay, it's clearly worth more to you." Still Teruki hesitated, so Reigen shoved the tape in his hands, forcing him to take it. "Ah, there is one condition, though."
Teruki was staring at the tape in his hands, shocked still that he could keep it. He looked up, distracted. "Y-yes! Name it, anything!"
Reigen broke his stern expression then, his expression softened into a kind smile. "Next time you want company at the theater, give me a call. I hate going by myself, so I could use a movie buddy."
Teruki's eyes brightened and he beamed, laughing because he'd gotten back something he'd thought he'd lost forever. He nodded, hugging the tape close to himself. "It's a deal."