Work Text:
"This is tiring."
Ruki sighed for the millionth time that day, his eyes and body feeling as tired as ever. The shelves of his shop were stocked but with no one looking through them right now it was boring. The counter he sat behind just feet from the glass door was nice and cool, enough for him to lean his head against for a quick doze. The only thing keeping people from peeping at him were lacy white curtains that shielded his face from the street. Everywhere else was wide open and able to be seen through.
The large enchanted windows let in bright orange sunlight, the two suns above their city blazing yellow and red. Beneath him was an all marble floor, black with beautiful white swirls. There were two other floors above him, being tended to by his employees.
Working here was nice and all, but sometimes he had to wonder if all the fame was worth it. Ruki Matsumoto, World Famous Witch and Potions Master. Yeah right, his skills were above average at best. If anyone tried hard enough they could take his title with no qualms whatsoever. And he would be okay with that. However, no one seemed to be under the impression that he was sick of it, and let him be the way he was.
And the fact that he set unreasonable hours for himself with only two other employees was another factor in his now tiring routine. Some demon named Uruha and his boyfriend, a harpy called Reita. They were both nice boys but... he felt distant to them. They were much younger than him, college students, only working there to pay off their student debts. They didn't really care for the supposed joys of being a potion maker and let him deal with the fame.
Uruha was a Beauty Major, and so he put him on the second floor with all the physical enhancing potions and charms. Reita was a Musical Major, so Ruki put him on the third floor with the cafe and snack area, which also had sound and music related books.
Ah, but they did their jobs well, and none of their creations came out as failures. They were talented but disillusioned. And that wasn't what Ruki wanted.
He wanted someone with a passion for their craft, not someone who just did this to pass time and earn money from it. Granted he knew Uruha and Reita had other passions and couldn't fire them at all, he just wished he could find someone with the same heat he did for this kind of work. Especially since he worked this floor alone.
This floor was the one with all the ingredients and novelty items like bewitched plants that changed color or pictures that could move. Small things but things that he loved nonetheless.
Just as he was thinking how lonely he was, the small fairy that lived in a porcelain dollhouse next to his counter on a soft woven white pedestal alerted him to a customer coming inside.
"Customer!" he chirped and opened the second story balcony door that was the size of Ruki's palm. "A customer is coming!"
He sighed softly and after smiling at his fairy sat up straight, turning on his register for the morning. Then he opened the jar of treats underneath his counter and gave half of one to the small creature, dangling himself over the balcony with a smile.
"Thank you, Yutaka. Here, this is for you."
The black feathered fairy quickly takes the almost too big sugar dusted mochi and happily munches on it as the person outside finally walks in. Ruki is almost floored by how incredibly cute he is and struggles to keep a professional face.
"Oh? The customer is so cute!" the fairy chirped. Ruki shushed him quickly and shoos him back into his little house, hearing a small tinkling laugh in response.
"H-hello! Good Morning!" he called and quickly grew nervous. "Can I help you today?"
Tall, with raven black hair and pink but thin lips the man is basically radiating with confidence. There are sunglasses perched on his nose, but he quickly puts them on his head instead, making Ruki almost coo out loud. His eyes are as deep as the ocean and coal black. They roamed over the store a few times before landing on him, causing Ruki to shiver.
"Hello," the man smiled and seemed to literally float over to him with long agile strides. "Are you Ruki?"
Ruki swallowed before nodding, holding his head high.
"Yes, are you looking for me?"
The man seemed to enjoy that bit of confidence from the small male and calmly roamed his eyes over the surrounding decorations of hanging succulents and enchanted cat pictures on the glass surfaces.
"I thought I would come by and see the shop for myself, I always hear such wonderful things about this place. It seems as though those things are more than correct."
His words seem to inadvertently cause Ruki to feel a bloom of pride in his chest, and his cheeks flamed with heat. His shop was famous after all, celebrities of all types always ordered from him directly. So who was this guy? Another celebrity? He didn't seem like a typical citizen.
"Who do I have the pleasure of addressing?" he answered and tried to keep his voice from squeaking. The man grinned finally and rocked on his feet back and forth.
"Yuu, and I'm not really anyone special," he admits with a sly smile and a shameless glance at Ruki's deep v necked sweater. "Just your local friendly ghost bored with life. But it's just gotten more interesting."
Heat crawled up his spine, and Ruki was sure he resembled an idiot right now. His plush full lips were imitating a fish out of the water he was sure.
"U-um, if there isn't anything I can help you with..."
The man laughs, an airy sound that he was sure was for him.
"I think you can, Ruki. I would like to see the plants, pretty please. I want something cute to spice up my apartment."
"Plants... Right! Please, follow me this way."
On shaky fawn legs, Ruki dusted off his skinny jeans and led the mystery guy to the second aisle from the right, the aisle with the plants.
"Wow," he heard from behind him in a breathless sigh. "Gorgeous."
Thinking Yuu was talking to the plants Ruki smiled and lets him continue to look around.
"Oh yeah aren't they pretty?" he chirps and pointed out his favorites. "This one is called the Echeveria, or the 'Afterglow.' It's pink and spouts glitter! Oh! Or this mini cherry bonsai, it can change to all colors of the rainbow!"
As he reached for the bonsai he was not aware of the way Yuu was staring at him until he felt a hand shamelessly grab for his ass. A squeak was all that left his mouth as he barely lets his fingers touch the potted plant. It was near to falling before a hand reached out to grab for it and he swerved around, his cheeks as pink as the glittery plant he was once squealing over.
"What..! I..! What the hell!"
Yuu was holding the bonsai with a grin and bites his lip. This asshole ghost! He was just a pervert!
"Thanks for you help Ruki-chan," he laughs. "I think I found the perfect thing. Mind if I ring up?"
Was he just trying to brush him off? Rude!
"H-hey!" he spluttered and followed Aoi to the register. "Don't ignore me!"
"I'm not, cutie," he answered and sets the plant down. "I think I'll come back here again tomorrow, this place is too cute!"
As Ruki stomps behind the counter Yuu lets his eyes once again fall on the v necked sweater and doesn't try to hide his interest or the way he let out a soft sigh. Ruki felt even more embarrassed and tried to keep himself calm.
"That will be seven hundred yen, please," he grits out and the ghost just nodded, pulling out a sleek silver card.
"Here, I think you'll find this to suffice."
As he passed it over he didn't miss this opportunity to lightly brush their fingers together, causing him to nearly drop the card.
"Here," he says and gives it back once he was done, unable to make eye contact. "Thank you, please... Please, c-come again."
As much as he wanted the other to go and die in a hole, he also couldn't deny that it felt nice knowing he was wanted like this. Ruki wasn't dumb, he knew attraction when he saw it. And the way Aoi stared at his chest made him feel both excited and ashamed.
"I think I will," Yuu says with a wink and then reached for something in his wallet. "Here, this is for you."
As he takes the pot, he also puts down a shiny enchanted business card that flashed with faux red strobe lights that gave off its own light. Before Ruki could ask, the man was already gone.
"What a pervert," he growled and sighed before picking up the card. What he saw made his eyes nearly pop out of his head. A single word was emblazoned on it in silver curving letters. But that word was enough.
AOI
"What?? Yuu was... but he..."
He knew what this was. Aoi was the name of an up and coming model he still hadn't seen the face of. That was him?
Ruki groaned and was about to stuff it into his box of cards before something on the back caught his eye. There was a phone number, probably his own. Another blush crawled up his neck and he sighs, opting to put it in his pocket.
If that guy wasn't so hot he could have killed him again.
*********************************
Ruki didn't think Yuu, or Aoi, would stay true to his word and come back. But he did. And as much as he hated it, a small bout of pride in his own image would force him to keep his rude comments to himself.
Weeks passed like this, and those weeks turned into two months. But he would always come in and do the same thing. Ask for one of Ruki's favorite items, flirt, grab his butt, pay, and then leave.
Soon Ruki began to develop something of a bond with him, albeit a strained one with the way Aoi always ogled his behind or let his hands touch Ruki just a bit too long to be normal. But he always left after five minutes, leaving behind a spluttering Ruki and threats of a second death in his wake.
It was always the same. And Ruki found himself wishing that he would stay longer.
This time he got his wish. Aoi stayed past his usual time and aimlessly wandered through the shelves as an excuse to talk to Ruki. It was nearing lunchtime, and he wondered if Aoi planned to stay for that.
"So, you're finally famous," he found himself asking the darker haired ghost. Aoi chuckled a little bit.
"Hmm, I guess," he said with no shame.
His overwhelming self confidence was what made Ruki look at him in a not so rainbow colored filter. If there was anything he detested it was people like him with no sense of self doubt, not even a healthy amount. And it pissed him off. But this was Aoi, and that only made him endearing as time passed.
When the clock struck noon on his clock, he sighed and put up the sign "out for lunch, come to the third floor" and made his way to the stairs to leave Aoi behind. The raven spots him leaving and begins to follow, as he had expected but didn't hate any less. Now he was giving Aoi an excuse to stare at his ass, damn it. Maybe he didn't think this through.
"Where are you going?"
"Cafe. It's break time," was all he said and got a hum in response. "Come on Yutaka!"
The fairy peeks out his head and followed the pair up the steps before sitting himself on Ruki's shoulder, munching on a piece of soft pink taffy. Eyeing the fairy Aoi shrugged his shoulders.
"Suppose you're right," Aoi hummed to himself as they walked past the second floor door to the third, where they were put into a typical safe styled environment. A counter with a coffee maker and sweets, and a nearby kitchen. There was an assortment of tables and booths, along with the occasional spell or charm bookshelf. It was cute and an enchanted ceiling hung above their heads, painted like the cloudy sky of winter and sprinkling soft flurries of fake snow down onto them. They never landed, disappearing just inches from where they would fall. Tinkles of gentle piano streamed from somewhere but Aoi could not tell.
"Ruki-san!" A deep voice calls to him from the counter. "The usual?"
"Yes, please, but bring another order," he answered and sits in a booth near a window, sighing. "So Aoi, I want to talk to you a little bit."
The raven sits on the opposite side of Ruki and notes the way that Ruki crossed his arms in front of his chest, blocking his view.
"If this is about my advances on you, I want you to know I am not sorry," he said with a serious face. Ruki blushed even more and nearly turned completely red.
"You can't flirt with me during work, stupid. I have an image and store to uphold."
Aoi frowned and when a boy with sandy blonde hair and a white mask over his face set down two cups of coffee, a mint coffee creamer and three strawberry tarts on their table he sighed to himself.
"I'm sorry if it makes you uncomfortable. I can't help it."
Yutaka immediately leaves Ruki's shoulder and goes for one of the tarts on the table, ripping off pieces as he ate it eagerly.
"Thanks, Rei," Ruki says to the boy and gets a nod, noticing the way that Reita gave Aoi an almost confused look before wandering off. "I get it. You like me, and I'm not belittling you for that. But... can you at least keep the ass touching to a minimum? If people knew about the Aoi grabbing someone's butt in some random potion shop your career would be in danger."
Sure at first he hated it, but the genuine smiles from Aoi or playful bits of banter they exchanged would prove to be his weakness. Soon the ass grabs became something of a norm, twistedly enough. But Aoi was becoming more famous, and if people knew... It would be a mark on his reputation, especially since Ruki was not his boyfriend. The media would think otherwise.
"Aw, you're worried about me?" Aoi peeps and to Ruki's astonishment his hand was grabbed and their fingers squeezed together. "You're so cute, Ru-chan."
Again, like that first time, Ruki mimicked a dying fish and looked down at his coffee. Why did Aoi have no problem with skinship whatsoever?
"Aoi-san, if... If you keep doing this, can... Can you at least keep it on the down low? I'm... not used to physical contact with other people. And despite the time that has passed between us, I barely know you."
There is silence, and he takes that as a cue to take back his hand to pour a nearly unhealthy amount of cream and sugar into his coffee. He doesn't look back up, knowing what he said might have hurt. But at the way Aoi's breath hitches he can't tell.
"Would you like to?"
It's a question he doesn't expect, making him freeze up. The stirring spoon stops, and even Yutaka looks up between them in confusion, strawberry filling and mint creamer dripping from his tiny face.
Finally, Ruki does look up, and he's completely pink. It's a sight that Aoi is learning to absolutely covet.
"What?"
Aoi smiled even cuter, and their fingers once more meet, linking together.
"I mean, do you want to know me more? I know our schedules clash, and our fame would make it hard but... I won't lie, I like you a lot. And... if time permits us, then... Then I could even learn to like you more."
Is Aoi... Blushing? He's actually shy? And Ruki was the reason why?
His heart gave more squeezes and he swallowed past the hard lump in his throat.
Aoi just asked him out. The popular guy in front of him responsible for an endless amount of fangirls and longing looks was asking him out. RIght here and now.
Was he dreaming?
In his daze, he noticed his other employee, Uruha, sitting at the counter with Reita, smiling and flirting with the occasional twirl of his honey blonde hair or an awkward scratch at the horns spiraling from his head. They were cute...
"Ru-chan?"
The soft voice of his fairy is what snaps him back to reality, and he once again swallowed.
"I... I'll have you know," he huffed as he puffs out his cheeks to raise his head in what he hoped was a confident air. "I don't just accept dates from people who grab my butt and expect something else from just that. They have to be sweet and kind to me, and not act like they're such hot stuff and be humble for once. I want people who are able to buy me food. And cute clothes. Then they can grab my butt."
Yeah, he wasn't ashamed. He had money sure, but when it was someone else getting him stuff it only made it better.
Aoi was laughing then, and their fingers clasped even tighter together.
"I see. Well, now wouldn't be a bad time to start would it?"
Ruki for once didn't mind the looks he was getting. Because this time, those eyes were trained on his own, and the usual spicy smirk was replaced with a sweet and sugar filled smile. A smile that made his witchy heart beat like crazy.
"I... I guess not. But you better work hard, Mr. Model Aoi-san. This witch doesn't give in easily."
Then that smile neared closer to him, and he didn't move away. Not even when their plush fullness pressed to his in a sweet and equally as sugary kiss.
"And I would love for you to stay that way, Ruki-chan. Because it makes all my months of flirting worth it."
They kissed again, and somewhere below him, he could barely make out the sounds of Yutaka fake choking and then laughing his usual tinkly laugh.
Aoi was just too sweet for him to care. Now he was glad Aoi grabbed his butt that first day. It was definitely worth it.
END