Work Text:
On November 2nd, he only meant to pop into the 7-Mobleven to grab a coffee.
It was Saturday, a day off for Reigen. He left his apartment a little after noon to take a quick, brisk walk to clear his head, but he noticed it was getting cooler, and Reigen thought a hot drink would warm him up. He walked to the nearest 7-Mobleven he knew of, got himself a coffee. On his way to the register to purchase his coffee, something caught Reigen’s eye.
The pocky shelf was right before the register. It was a candy he was definitely familiar, but he wasn’t crazy about them. Not bad but underwhelming. Normally, this would be the end of the thought and he’d be purchasing his coffee by now. However, Reigen seeing them somehow reminded him that it was early November.
Yes, it was November 2nd, and a certain day was coming up. November 11th, 11/11, aka Pocky Day. Obviously it wasn’t a National Holiday, or even a holiday of true significance. Yet the thought of upcoming day had him glued to the pocky stand on display while his coffee cooled in his hand. It wasn’t the day that was at the forefront of Reigen’s mind (he honestly couldn’t care about a made up day based on the numbers of the date for a candy he wasn’t fond of), so much as a game that people played on this day. It was childish, really.
Reigen had the Pocky Game stuck in his head, of course. It was a game where two people eat the opposite ends of the pocky stick and either one person pulls away and loses, or they both kiss in tie. He kept playing rules in his head over and over. It was a silly game teens play, a tasty game of chicken. A game he knew he wanted to play with Serizawa.
And he couldn’t deny it: Reigen had it bad for Serizawa. Real bad. Considering buying pocky to play a game just to get a chance to almost kiss Serizawa bad. However, Reigen kept telling himself that there were better ways of going about this. He thought of multiple reasons why this would fall flat. The question was, with all those reasons, could he still resist attempting to engage in it; After all, he was nearly 30, he had developed a sense of self control from years of experience, but he wanted to kiss the man so bad, he’d do anything.
He had his answer when he found himself walking out with his coffee in one hand and a box of regular chocolate pocky in the other. He couldn’t say he was too proud of himself and his supposed self control, but considering his career, buying pocky with the intention of getting Serizawa to play a teen’s game with him in the hopes that they’d kiss wasn’t the worst thing he’d done… But he still wasn’t proud.
On Monday, November 4th, he got into work early and snuck that box of pocky into the office to put it in his desk drawer. At first, as Reigen was putting the box into the drawer, he was worried that he’d forget the pocky and that one day, in the next year, he’d find a box with biscuit sticks and melted chocolate.
Fortunately (or unfortunately), every day until November 11th, Reigen was fully aware of the box in his desk. He was certain that it was practically glowing with its presence in its spot. He swore that one day it was going to burn the the drawers and onto the floor simply from how much he thought about it being there. Of course, he didn’t think about the pocky as much as he thought kissing Serizawa.
By November 5th, Reigen was using every free moment he had to himself to imagine how Serizawa would kiss him. At first, he thought it would be chaste, but he started to really think about possible details: would Serizawa take a few seconds to melt into it? Would he become immediately eager and grab Reigen?
On November 8th, it eventually occurred to Reigen that Serizawa didn’t know how he felt and Reigen didn’t know how Serizawa felt. Even if he didn’t shut Reigen down right when he asked to play, Reigen realized Serizawa could also freak out if Reigen didn’t pull away.
By November 10th, the day before, Reigen was a mess. Nothing had happened and yet so much could happen. Why did he buy the fucking box of pocky? Why was he making such a big deal out of this?
After all, he was an adult man. If he was having feelings, he didn’t need a made up day for chocolate to express himself. He could tell Serizawa how he felt like a grown up, and however Serizawa took it was up to him, and Reigen would handle his response with grace and professionalism (ha) because that’s what mature people do.
So it was settled. Reigen would ask Serizawa directly… Another day. He’d do it another day. Not on November 10th, or November 11th. Maybe not in November. Actually, January was looking good for Reigen to be a mature, grown, adult man.
So when November 11th finally came, Reigen was absolutely content to not acknowledge the day at all. It was just another normal day in this office with him, Serizawa, and Dimple. And thank god Dimple was there; as if he needed more of a reason not to go ahead with his shitty plan.
They had been busy with two clients, both coming in with cursed objects that required exorcisms, one particular spirit was a bit rowdy, but nothing Serizawa and Dimple couldn’t handle (just a bit slippery). After those two clients, the day slowed down a bit.
Serizawa, sitting in his usually spot at his desk, must have been desperate for conversation. “Ah, Dimple, Reigen… I’ve been out of the loop, I suppose, but Tome told me there’s a Pocky Day? And, and it’s today.”
Tome wasn’t in the office at the moment, of course. She was at school. She’d probably drop by later. Damn her for saying anything, Reigen thought, even though he knew that wasn’t fair.
Reigen remarked: “Oh, it is! I forgot the date.” He hadn’t.
“Pocky day? Hadn’t heard of that…” Dimple said, completely uninterested.
“Yeah. It’s cute! A day dedicated to it,” Serizawa mused.
“It’s not like it’s a government holiday, just a fun thing about the day’s numbers.”
“Oh!” Serizawa seemed a bit taken back. “Still, I think it’s cute.”
Did I just fuck this up? Somehow? Oh wait, he could fix this. And this was his chance.
“Oh I actually brought, um” Reigen slid back in his seat to open up the drawer. “I have a box of pocky for this day. To ‘celebrate’”. He pulled out the pocky box. Suddenly aware that he contradicted himself, he tried to cover up his lie. “I for-forgot the date today, but bought it in advanced.”
“Yeah?” Serizawa perked up after that. Reigen would have wiped the nervous sweat off his brow but he needed to play it cool.
“Why not. Little bit of fun.” Reigen pulled the bag out of the box and struggled to get the foil open.
“Reigen, what’s wrong?” Dimple asked.
“What… do you… mean?” Reigen said as he fumbled with the foil. He started to consider using scissors, but he’d look weak in front of Serizawa.
Dimple looked suspiciously at Reigen. “You’re slightly off, but it’s just us here. No customer to impress.”
“You’re the one who’s off! There’s nothing wrong! Just…” Reigen huffed and used his teeth to pen up the bag. “Ha! Open!”
He took a pocky stick out, and handed it to Serizawa who had walked over to grab it. Serizawa returned to his desk and began eating. Reigen took one out for himself, and passed one to Dimple, who hesitantly took it. He probably thought Reigen was targeting all of them with something.
Reigen watched Serizawa eat his pocky, and wished his mouth was on the other end. Actually, he really wished his mouth was on the other end of Serizawa’s mouth, no pocky at all.
This was Reigen’s chance…
Or not. No, actually this was stupid. It was so pathetic that he would suggest playing the game. What happened to being a big, grown, adult man and being open and forward about his feelings? Plus, Dimple was here to observe everything from this moment on and he was already suspicious of Reigen. If it all went south, Reigen would never live down Dimple’s mockery let alone the inevitable awkwardness between him and Serizawa.
And yet…
“You know!” Reigen blurted out. He hadn’t meant to. His mind had just been on the cons of going through with this! His fucking mouth hadn’t caught up apparently.
Say never mind! You thought you had a fact but forgot it! You thought you remembered something about a client the other day but was mistaken! Anything! Drop the subject, you ass!
“There’s a game the kids play…”
Fuck! Why am I doing this??? Sure enough, Dimple’s eyes widened with curiosity while Serizawa looked over curiously at Reigen.
“Yeah?”
Reigen looked up at Dimple who was waiting. Could he make up a game in 3 seconds?
No, he couldn’t.
“It’s a sort of game of chicken. With pocky.”
“Reigen! Tell us about this game!” Dimple was clearly less interested in the game and more interested in Reigen’s intentions.
“Oh? What’s the game?” Serizawa asked innocently.
“Well uh, you and I, uh, we bite down on opposite sides of the stick. And then we take small bites until we’re at the middle…” Reigen paused as he watched Serizawa put it all together. He considered how he phrased the next part. “The person who pulls away first is the loser. If no one pulls away, lips touch, it’s a tie.”
Dimple immediately broke out into a huge smile; his grin could not have eaten more shit than it was currently eating in that moment. Reigen fought the urge to glare at Dimple and instead wished Dimple would die again. Reigen never told that sentient fart what he felt about Serizawa, so Dimple probably just figured out exactly what he was up to.
“A tie…” Serizawa repeated.
“Gee, Reigen, this sounds fun!” Dimple teased. “I’ll go first, you and me.”
“No!” Reigen yelled before looking at Serizawa who jumped back a bit. “O-of course not! I mean, I, I would if I could, but I’d phase right through you. There’s no… there’s nothing to lose!”
He looked over at Serizawa again and realized how what he just said might sound bad. Reigen ignored Dimple’s failed attempts to muffle his laughs and rambled on:
“Not that, there’s anything to lose, just, you know, it’s more fun with a physical being there. Nothing wrong if lips touch! It’s a fun
He swallowed. This was a disaster so Reigen did what he did best and just kept talking.
“We don’t have to play it, actually!” he shouted. God, he really could be a coward. He got this far and backed off. “It was just, you know, just in good fun! If it’s weird, we don’t have to! I just-“
“Oh! I thought it might be fun!” Serizawa chimed in. “I mean, it’s simple. Nothing too bad. Worst thing is a kiss, right?”
Reigen’s stomach sank a bit. Then again, that’s how he presented it.
“Yeah, it’s just a kiss,” Dimple said too smoothly.
“Like I said, we don’t have to! In fact, I’ll put the box away…” Reigen gave Serizawa the chance to turn it down one last time.
“It’s fine. Unless, you think you’re gonna lose.” Serizawa taunted.
That sparked the competitive fire in Reigen.
“No way, I’m not scared of you. You’ll back away first, I’m sure” Reigen got caught up in shit talking, knowing full well he didn’t want any of what he was saying to happen.
Reigen got up from his desk and walked over to the sofa and sat down. He pulled a pocky stick out. “Get ready!” He put the cookie part that wasn’t covered in chocolate in in his mouth so it was held in his teeth and held it in place for Serizawa to bite. Serizawa got up from his own desk and sat next to Reigen and leaned in to take a bite, but just before he did, he looked Reigen in the eye.
“You ready to lose?” he said, and bit down.
Reigen needed to win- er, tie.
Dimple made himself referee; he floated over between them, and announced the start. “Ready?”
They looked each other in the eye and waited for the signal.
“Go!” Dimple shouted.
He took a tiny bit and so did Serizawa.
Then another. He took more tiny bites until he hit the chocolate part on his end. At that point, he looked up at Serizawa’s eyes. He looked determined, like Reigen wasn’t there, like it was just him and the stick. He hoped that wasn’t a sign, and looked back down at the stick.
They took a few more tiny bites until they were only an inch away. Reigen, out of sheer nerves, paused, but so had Serizawa. Reigen wanted to swallow the piece in front of him he was so close to Serizawa, but he also wanted to bolt and admit defeat because Serizawa had also stopped.
Reigen looked up at Serizawa again who also looked up at that moment. Reigen froze. He wanted to taste those lips, that mouth. He’d spit that piece of stick in his mouth to get to Serizawa, but if that was too much for Serizawa… Reigen really was way too deep in this now.
“Stalemate?” Dimple commented. “Didn’t think that would happen…”
Reigen’s eyes darted to Dimple and back down to the pocky stick. Smart ass, he’d show him. Reigen moved, and took the last few nibbles, and before he knew it, their lips were touching.
Suddenly, Dimple was gone. Or rather, Reigen had become unaware of Dimple’s presence, because he had Serizawa’s lips to his. His initial excitement had dropped immediately after, though: Reigen wondered if he could even count this as a victory: the kiss happened under the guise of a game so there was no passion in it, from either Serizawa or him. Even though Serizawa still had not pulled away from it, he was too soured in his disappointment in this underwhelming kiss to notice the possible implication. Eventually, he pulled away.
Reigen tried to appear more accomplished than let down. “Well, guess that’s a tie, huh.”
“Yeah…” Serizawa shot him a smile but it seemed forced.
Reigen looked over at Dimple, who looked disappointed by how it went. Reigen guessed Dimple thought one of them would pull away, and somehow either way, Reigen would be the one embarrassed.
“Why don’t you try it with Dimple then?” Reigen said, fully aware of what he said earlier. He stood up and went back to his desk.
“Oh, eh…” Dimple said to Reigen’s surprise. He must be embarrassed for the both of them now. “I have to float somewhere. Ghost errands. You know.” Reigen didn’t know, and he didn’t care. He was glad Dimple would be gone while he mentally prepped to wallow.
“Ah, sure, go off, we’ll be fine for now.” Dimple nodded (tilted?) to that and phased through the office wall. With that, Reigen got back to work.
A few minutes went by when Serizawa cleared his throat again. Reigen looked over at him. He didn’t realize Serizawa hadn’t moved from his spot on the couch until now.
“I thought maybe we can try the game again.”
“What? But-” Reigen cut himself off. He caught something in Serizawa’s eyes. “Yeah, we can.”
Serizawa shrugged. “Just… I wanna try something.”
Reigen cocked his head, confused. Serizawa continued: “I… think I have a way to get you to let go of that pocky stick.”
“Oh yeah?” Reigen smirked. “Try me.”
Ah, so just a competitive thing. Foolish of Reigen to get his hopes up that maybe Serizawa wanted to kiss again, even if it wasn’t great. And foolish Reigen would take that bait anyway because he wanted to make Serizawa smile, even if he had to fake pulling away to do it.
Reigen grabbed the pocky box and made his way back to the couch. He pulled out another pocky stick. He set it up again, pocky stick in his teeth. He smirked, as if to say, “Try me.”
Serizawa took a deep breath and smiled, but the smile wasn’t one of cleverness or cunning. It was full of adoration. Was that the trick?
It was certainly part of it. Reigen’s mouth went slightly slack from the gaze, making it easier for Serizawa to lean forward, pull the pocky out of Reigen’s mouth and toss it, and kiss him in one fluid motion. He cupped Reigen’s cheek, possibly smudging chocolate on a cheek, but Reigen didn’t care. He immediately melted into the kiss. And, oh yes, this kiss was much better. Serizawa had the hunger and enthusiasm Reigen was hoping for. Reigen slid up closer to Serizawa and cupped Serizawa’s neck. With Serizawa humming the way he was, Reigen didn’t even care that they were still at work. While he was not fond of the candy, Reigen had no problem tasting it off of Serizawa’s lips like this.
Just when Reigen wanted to lick his way into Serizawa’s mouth, Serizawa pulled away and pressed their foreheads together. “I got your mouth off the pocky… I win.”
“I don’t know, I feel like I’m winning,” Reigen said, a little impatiently, but he was smiling.
“Well, wouldn’t that be a tie th-”
Reigen didn’t let him finish, and cut him off with another kiss and pushed him back onto the couch.
-
“I don’t know, Tome, there wasn’t any chemistry in it. And then it was just over. He even told me to do it with Serizawa.”
“Ah, shit, I was certain Reigen was into Serizawa.”
“Maybe we miscalculated? There’s nothing there after all.”
“I don’t know, you said Reigen brought the pocky box himself and brought up the game. That meant Serizawa didn’t have to use the one I told him to get. Maybe they were both nervous?”
“Could be.”
“We’ll get them together next time. I’ll talk to Serizawa after work today.”