Chapter Text
The spring rain fell lightly, creating puddles that would soon disappear due to the bright sun. The last of the cherry blossoms fell and the tourists filtered out, the busy streets of Japan becoming filled with locals once again. Current rising celebrity, Reigen Arataka sat comfortably in his office chair, and the hum of the air conditioner filled the empty silence. The entire day had been a hassle, he had to contact (more specifically his assistant had to) all types of designers and brands for the upcoming Met Gala. He had been lucky enough to get invited to the Gala even though his status was a little bit less fortunate than other people who were invited. Therefore this was important, it could even be his break-out event! Making sure that his outfit was up to par (or even higher than the par) was the number one priority. His stylist and friend, Ritsu had even noted that he was “like a snobby little kid refusing to eat their vegetables” due to his picky nature in outfits and styles.
To be fair, though his look was important he just liked that air of superiority and pickiness he got. He didn’t know shit about fashion. The ego boost he got from rejecting ideas from famous people, most likely more popular than him was enjoyable to say the least-
“What the hell! That’s way too much exposition,” the man in question blurted out.
Though of course he was saying this in regards to some random tv show he was watching on the computer. Nothing else in particular. He lounged, currently on a break from looking through the wide variety of fabrics and color swatches laid out neatly on the table. The event was almost a week away, but his indecisive ass decided not to choose until the last minute. It had to be perfect, and that means a whole lot of procrastination and stress.
There was a shuffling of footsteps coming from down the hallway and soon enough Reigen's “assistant” entered with a tray of tea and some biscuits.
"Hey Seri." Reigen looked up from his computer.
"Hi, sorry I took so long." Serizawa said with a nervous laugh.
Reigen waved his hand dismissively to signal that it didn't really matter. He stood up from the creaky chair and made his way over to the couch and table. They both sat down together, and Reigen quietly sipped his tea while Serizawa gave a thoughtful hum.
“I like the green,” he noted then pointed at a boujee green fabric, “It’d suit you.”
Reigen made a few over-the-top gestures with his hand then lifted the green, leaning into turquoise, fabric up over his grey suit.
“Does it?”
He then started dramatically pretending he was walking down a cat walk with the fabric wrapped around his waist like a skirt.
“No paparazzi please! The celebrity is focused,” Serizawa chuckled.
“Good to see you two are working hard,” a tired voice interjected.
Ritsu entered with a large binder and a few bags (other than the ones under his eyes). He wore a crisp black suit and looked professional, though his hair and sluggish posture suggested otherwise. Plopping down the binder on the table he sat down with a heavy sigh.
“Alright. We’ve narrowed it down to 3 outfits, if you choose one today we still have time to refine it.”
“Wonderful!” Reigen clapped his hands and sat down.
The three of them sat on the mushy brown couch and proceeded to look through the large book. To Reigen’s surprise it was very meticulously designed, every picture fitting a specific theme and serving a purpose. Each outfit looking better than the next. Damn his friend really was just out here being this talented.
“So?”
Oh right, he had to choose.
“I like… the third one.”
The look Reigen had pointed to was a fancy, colorful suit with a draping cape behind it. It had a similar green color scheme to the aforementioned fabric, but now little crystals fitted the ends of the cape and suit. To add more pizazz it had flowy sleeves and large shoulder pads with weird feathers on it.
“Oh,” Serizawa pondered, “Didn’t think that would be your style.”
“Me neither but, we’ll make it goddamn work!” Ritsu pointed out happily, shut the binder then stood up quickly.
He stood up and walked out of the stuffy office, right before leaving he poked his head back around the doorway leaving a final remark, “I brought you some things to get ready just in-case.” and then he left with that.
Reigen rifled through the bags, finding a few self-care products, most of which he’d never heard of.
What the hell’s a moisturizer?
“I suppose we can clean these up.” Serizawa motioned towards the wide assortment of colorful patterns and palettes on the table.
“Oh of course, let me help”
--
Only a couple hours left before the gala started and Reigen was excited as hell! He’d be walking next to actual celebrities, and hopefully he’d be able to steal some of the spotlight even. Fortunately, Serizawa had done a great job getting a buzz around Reigen. Though he struggled with talking to people in real life, writing online always took the stress off of him and he was wonderful PR.
Currently, several people pampered Reigen. Styling his hair, putting on some light makeup (which he found kind of icky) and finally Ritsu came out with the extravagant suit. The crystals caught the light of the yellow-ish studio, and though not particularly jaw-dropping it looked gorgeous nonetheless. It definitely had been refined. The suit looked much more slick, and the feathers on the shoulder were placed in a graceful curve instead of the haphazard way in the original idea. Plus, the sleeves and cape, while still translucent were much more silky and expensive looking.
“Are you sure that’s going to look good on me?” Reigen eyed the wear suspiciously. He wrung his hands, but then quickly brought one up to brush nervously through his neatly styled hair.
Ritsu gently fitted everything in place (though with the help of Serizawa as the shoulder pads really didn’t work in anyone's favor). The last piece of clothing was the cape. Reigen looked at himself in the mirror. Soon he would be walking down a carpet filled with celebrities and hundreds of cameras and flashing lights. Though he loved the attention, a sickly feeling was rising in his stomach. Could he really fit in with everyone else there?
The cape was attached and the crystals and gems were laid beautifully out behind him.
Well this is definitely a change from my grey suit.
He looked at himself in the mirror, if he wanted to fit in he’d need a confident expression instead of this queasy face he currently had.
“You’re probably walking out soon.” Ritsu said as he glanced at his wristwatch.
Serizawa entered once again with a schedule and a little headset. He lead Reigen, and just before he left gave him a reassuring pat on the back and a warm smile.
Reigen had butterflies in his stomach but his friend’s reassurance made him feel a little bit better. He joined a few bodyguards. (He wasn’t really sure that’s what they were, but he assumed that they would help him walk down the carpet. Did he really deserve that?!)
This was it. He was sweating bullets, and his eyes darted around everywhere. Taking a deep breath, he looked back once more at Serizawa and walked away confidently.
The camera lights were blinding, but were also in a way comforting. While Reigen might’ve been camera shy he was still a model, and whenever he saw the bright blinding lights he knew that all attention was on him. He posed letting the light catch on the cape, and he did a graceful spin before continuing to walk. An infamous celebrity even stopped to gawk at Reigen’s outfit, and he winked at them before walking right past.
God I am good at this.