Work Text:
“You have GOT to be shitting me,” Kinrou yelled, pulling at his hair like a gotdam animal.
Christmas was in two days and he was searching e ver y wh ere for a gift for his younger brother.
Not just any gift, but the BEST gift. Something his brother has been wanting for a long time. He was obsessed with this show, you see. “The silver spear of justice” and he was practically in LOVE with the main weapon.
Kinrou had hoped to get him one last year, but it was sold out everywhere, so that sucked dick (and not even in a good way).
He thought maybe this year would be different but apparently. Not.
He was going to lose his mind, he really didn’t know what else to get him. Ginrou was always so… all over the place. But that silver spear? That was a constant want.
“Sir, why the fuck are you ripping hair outside of my store?” A voice asked.
He turned around and saw…. Holy shit. A huge bulking man? With a chiseled face? And golden hair?
This man ran a fucking toy store?? With the body he had you would NEVER have guessed.
“Sir, please,” the Greek god said.
“S...sorry. I just… you’re sold out,” Kinrou sheepishly said, pointing to the sign in the window.
“Ah. Well, if you can wait until 3:30 or so today, there should be a new shipment. You might even get some before anyone else,” The man said.
Kinrou’s eyes lit up and looked him in the eyes.
“You’re serious? I have NOT been able to find this toy ANYWHERE,” Kinrou said.
“Yeah. Just pop by at 3 or so and you might be able to get one before the crazy mom’s do,” he said.
The man walked to the door and unlocked it.
“Oh no, sir, I’m spending the whole day here. I’m gonna get that toy and you know what? I’m gonna be the first one to get that toy,” he said in a determined manner.
The man glanced at him and evilly smiled. Was that possible for a toy store owner? Apparently, it was but honestly? It was kinda hot.
“Hah! I like your spunk! Come on in,” he said, with a hearty laugh.
Kinrou felt his face flush as he followed the very muscular man into the store.
What the hell was he supposed to do while he waited? It was 8 in the morning.
Maybe he could find something for Suika? He already got her gift, but you could never get Suika too many gifts.
As he walked around, he couldn’t help but notice the god-like man behind the counter.
God, he was handsome. Kinrou never considered himself a gay man or like… even bi or something but holy fuck. You’d have to be blind to not notice how attractive the man was.
Then again, he never found any women attractive so maybe he was gay? Was this really something to dwell on? He had a mission, he was going to get that cursed Silver Spear if it killed him.
“Hey!” The man loudly said.
Kinrou turned his head towards him and the man moved his hand in a gesture that said: “hey get over here”. And who was Kinrou to not obey the most handsome man in existence?
He walked over and the man held his hands out.
“You’re probably gonna be here a while, want me to hang up your coat and hat?” He offered.
“You are quickly becoming my favorite person,” Kinrou said without thinking. Did he regret it? Only a little.
Thankfully the man only looked amused.
As Kinrou removed his coat, he noticed the nametag on the man’s shirt. Magma.
What a fascinating name.
He took the jacket and hung it next to his own.
“Thank you,” Kinrou said.
“Yeah, sure thing,” he said.
Kinrou went back to walking around. It wasn’t a particularly large store, but Kinrou kind of liked it for that?
How had he never been here before?
It smelled like an old bookstore, which didn’t make sense, but it really suits the place well. It was so… comforting and warm in there.
After walking through all the aisles a few times, he pretty much had the layout of the store memorized. Again, it wasn’t a large store and he already had a very good memory, so with all those elements together, it made it very easy for him to remember the layout.
A few people were walking in and looking around. Kinrou kept walking around. I mean, there wasn’t really anything for him to do, so he figured he might as well keep moving.
“Excuse me, sir?” A voice asked.
He turned around and saw a woman standing behind them, clearly a Karen.
“Do you work here?” She asked.
“Oh, n-”
“Great. Can you point me in the direction of the board games?” She asked.
Kinrou sighed and pointed over the aisle.
“Three aisles past the barbies,” he said.
“Thank you very much,” she said with a small bow.
Then off she went.
As weird as it was that she thought he worked there, it felt kind of cool to be able to point out where to find something (especially when he had never been there prior).
When he looked at Magma, he realized that he wasn’t wearing a work outfit. It was casual wear.
And Kinrou wasn’t wearing his jacket in the dead of winter so. Actually thinking about it, it makes perfect sense she thought he worked there.
A few more people approached him not long after and he pointed them all in the direction they wanted. At one point, a woman approached him asking for a toy that was. Right in front of her.
“Hey, four-eyes, come here,” Magma said.
Kinrou assumed he was talking about him so he walked up to him and leaned on the counter.
“It’s Kinrou. And what’s up?” He asked.
“A few people came up to me talking about how my “new employe” was very good at his job. Who do you think they were talking about?” He asked.
Kinrou tapped his chin and looked at the ceiling, pretending to think.
“Oh, no idea. Do tell me. Who is your new fantastic employe?” Kinrou asked, a shit-eating grin on his face.
“How the hell do you already know where everything is located in the store? I’ve certainly never seen you here before today,” Magma said, just a little bit impressed.
“I have a good memory and I was wandering around,” Kinrou simply stated.
Magma looked him up and down and Kinrou had attempted to compose himself but fucking christ.
“You said you wanted a Silver Spear?” He asked.
“Yes. Very much.”
“Tell you what. I’ll make you a deal. If I can promise you first pick, would you mind helping out today? I feel like it’s a win-win. You get your toy, and you get something to do all day. And I get some help. What do you say?” Magma asked.
“Holy shit, that sounds perfect. I accept. What should I do first?” Kinrou asked, suddenly very excited for the rest of his day.
“In the back, there’s a box of stuffed animals, could you put those by the front display?” Magma asked.
“It’s in a box labeled F2-MM. Can you handle it, Kinrou?” Magma asked, a twinge of teasing in his voice.
“Of course, Magma. You can count on me. I’m going to be the best fake employe ever,” Kinrou said, the same amount of teasing in his voice.
Magma scoffed and dug around a drawer, pulling out a key. He grabbed Kinrou’s wrist and dropped the key in his hand.
“Alright. I’m counting on you,” he said.
Kinrou walked to the bag room. Just about as cozy as the rest of the store. Just… a bit bigger, maybe.
He walked around for a few minutes looking for the box. After what seemed like an eternity, he finally found that goddamn box.
He went to work almost instantly. He made conversation with customers and Magma alike.
After an hour, Magma walked up to him and poked Kinrou’s shoulder.
“Can you take over the register for a moment?” He asked.
Kinrou shrugged and headed over to the register. Magma quickly went over how it works and then left him to fend for himself in a sea of Karen’s.
Magma was so cool. A bit blunt, but who doesn’t like a man who’s straight-forward? Probably lesbians. Anyway.
He really got Kinrou thinking? Was he gay? Why did a handsome stranger have to make him question this?? Curses.
“Excuse me, sir, can you tell me if you have any Silver Spears available?” A woman asked, snapping Kinrou from his thoughts.
“I’m sorry, but we don’t have any in stock. We should be getting more around 3, though, if you don’t mind waiting,” Kinrou responded.
He swears to god her eye twitched.
“Do you mind checking the back for any? Surely you have at least a few,” she said.
He narrowed his eyes at her.
“Ma’am, we don’t have any Silver Spears yet. If you don’t mind waiting until 3, we’ll be getting them shipped at that time,” he repeated.
She frowned and furrowed her eyebrows.
“Excuse me? Is that any way to speak to a customer? I asked you to check the back,” she said, a lot more aggressively.
“Ma’am, I’ve been in the back many times today. We don’t have any Silver Spears yet,” he said.
She crossed her arms and her face started to get red with anger. Kinrou stood his ground. No way was he going to let an old lady get the better of him.
“This is absolutely unacceptable, I’m asking for a simple request and-”
“Ma’am. I gave you your answer. We don’t have Silver Spears. But we will at 3. Please be patient,” Kinrou interrupted.
He had no fear as he didn’t actually work there so what was Magma gonna do? Fire him? Unlikely.
“I want to speak to your manager right the fuck now, and do not keep me waiting,” she demanded.
“What do you want to hear? I told you we don’t have any right now but we will later. Now, you have a few choices here. You can either leave or wait until 3 when we get the next shipment. No matter what you choose, I have to ask you to leave the line, you’re holding up the people behind you,” Kinrou snapped.
The woman looked absolutely shocked. Flabergasted. Surprised. Etc, etc.
“Do you speak to all your customers like this? It’s absolutely appalling. I could get you fired, you know,” She said.
“No, I don’t speak to all customers like this. Only the ones that don’t leave until they get an answer they want,” Kinrou snarled.
Boy, he sure was testing God today. And it felt exhilarating.
She started yelling but Kinrou didn’t flinch. He wasn’t going to give her the satisfaction. In between her yelling, he calmly asked her to leave the line so he could continue helping the people behind her.
“Ma’am, you’re making a fool of yourself,” A customer behind her said.
“Excuse me? Are you apart of this?” She snapped.
“Maybe she’s not, but I am,” Magma said, emerging from behind the counter.
“Yeah? And who the hell are you?” She demanded.
He stood up straighter, making himself more intimidating, which both simultaneously worked on the customer and Kinrou.
“I’m the owner. Now, get out of my store,” He menacingly said.
“But… aren’t you going to fire him? He treated me poorly!” She yelled.
“The only one being treated poorly is him,” Magma pointed to Kinrou.
“I have no policy that says my workers shouldn’t be treated with respect. Now, leave my store before I call the cops,” he snapped.
She screamed before stomping out of the store. As soon as she was gone, Magma turned to the other customers.
“I’m sorry you all had to sit through that. For your troubles, you all get 20% off your purchases,” he said.
He turned to Kinrou and for a moment, he thought he was going to yell at him.
“You alright?” He asked.
“Perfectly fine. Not the first bitchy asshole I’ve dealt with, certainly not the last,” Kinrou said as he started scanning the next customer’s items.
“Hm.”
“Hm?”
“Hm.”
“Hm,” Kinrou confirmed. Ahh, he could feel the romance. Being able to communicate without words. That’s what true love is about.
The rest of the day went by rather quickly. As 3 o’clock was nearing, he felt himself getting more excited.
Then Magma got a phone call.
He pulled Kinrou aside.
“The Silver Spears aren’t able to come in today,” he said.
“What?”
“There was a problem with shipping. They’re coming in tomorrow. That’s the soonest I could get them,” he said.
Kinrou frowned and adjusted his glasses.
“That’s… rather unfortunate,” he mumbled.
“I suppose you’re able to go home now if you’d like. I can handle the rest of the day by myself,” Magma said.
“You don’t have any other workers to come in and help?”
“Not really. They’re all visiting family and whatnot,” Magma said, rolling his eyes.
“Well, I really don’t mind helping out for the rest of the day. I’m having fun,” Kinrou said.
Magma looked him up and down and whoop there go Kinrou’s feelings.
“Why? I’m literally not paying you,” he said.
“If you can still promise me one of those Silver Spears, I’ll happily work for it. It’s very important to me that I get one this year,” Kinrou said.
Magma seemed to think for a little bit.
“...Okay. But you’re not obligated to stay the whole time,” he said.
“I know. I really appreciate this, Magma. Thank you,” Kinrou said.
The rest of the day flew by like it was nothing. Kinrou stacked toys, swept the floor, helped check people out, and he enjoyed doing it too.
He never had a job he enjoyed before. And technically he doesn’t even work there. But the longer he helped, the more he wanted to.
Also, Magma was hot, so that was a bonus.
Before he even knew it, he was flipping the sign on the door to say closed.
“You can go home now if you want,” Magma said, grabbing the broom.
“Do you need help cleaning up?”
“Nope.”
“Okay, I’m rephrasing that. Can I help you clean up?”
“I really don’t understand you, Kinrou,” Magma admitted.
He shrugged and grabbed the broom out of Magma’s hands.
“You don’t need to. There’s plenty I don’t understand about you either, you know? I mean, why would you let a complete stranger work at your store for a day? It sounds dangerous if you ask me. I could probably kill you if I wanted,” Kinrou said.
Magma let out a laugh.
“You? You’re as skinny as a stick, I could easily kill you before you even laid a hand on me,” Magma said.
Kinrou leaned on the broom and tilted his head.
“You really think so?”
“I know it.”
“Okay,” Kinrou dropped the broom and put his arm on the table “let’s arm wrestle,” he said.
“I’m… going to win in seconds, you know that right?”
“Then what does it hurt to try? If you win, you’re just proving your point, right? C’mon,” Kinrou smirked “scared?”
“Oh. Ohoho. Fine, but when I win, don’t cry,” he said, setting his arm on the table, grabbing Kinrou’s.
“Fine. But when I win, don’t be surprised,” Kinrou teased.
“In 3… 2… 1!” Magma yelled.
Almost instantly, Kinrou slammed his hand on the table, winning.
Magma looked at him in awe.
“What? I did tell you to not be surprised, didn’t I?” Kinrou said, grabbing the broom once again and began sweeping.
“How the hell… I’m like… three times your size and clearly have more muscles than you?” Magma asked in shock.
Kinrou rolled up his sleeve and flexed, showing off his own muscles.
“Holy shit,” he said in awe.
“Now, are you going to help or am I going to do your job for you?” Kinrou asked.
“No one asked you to help, you know that, right?”
“I know that very well. But it’s the least I could do,” Kinrou said.
“Why are you so obsessed with the Silver Spear, anyway?” Magma asked.
Kinrou stopped what he was doing and stood still.
“You don’t have to tell me, I was just curious,” Magma quickly said.
“...My brother.”
“Hm?”
“My brother loves that show. It… helped him through a really rough time. I think it actually saved his life, between you and me. So, I wanted to get him something important to him and to me,” Kinrou admitted.
“I’ve been looking for one for at least a year, but I always seem to have rotten luck finding any,” he said.
He looked Magma in the eyes.
“That’s why I’m thankful for you letting me help out, and I want to make sure I milk it for all it’s worth,” he said.
Magma leaned against the counter and slightly smiled.
“Alright. I understand a little more now,” he said.
That was good enough for Kinrou and the two went back to cleaning in peaceful silence.
When they were done, they parted ways and Kinrou made his way back home, awaiting tomorrow.
The next day, he woke up early and started getting ready.
“Where are you going?” Ginrou asked.
“I have something I need to do today,” he said.
Ginrou groaned and threw a granola bar at him.
“You gonna be gone all day again?” He asked.
Kinrou shoved the bar in his pocket and turned to Ginrou.
“Probably,” he said.
Ginrou pouted.
“You know it’s Christmas Eve, right?”
“Yeah, I know. I promise I’ll be home tonight, there’s just something I need to do,” Kinrou said.
“Sure,” Ginrou sadly said.
Kinrou sighed and walked up to him.
“I can’t tell you why I’m going because it’s a surprise for you, it’s for a good cause,” he said.
Ginrou perked up.
“For me?”
“Yeah. I would never abandon you on Christmas Eve without a good reason. I’ll try to get home as soon as I can, okay?”
Ginrou pulled at his hair gently.
“Yeah. Okay, that’s okay,” he said.
Kinrou ruffled his hair and made his way to the door.
“If you want, you could invite someone over,” he offered.
“Yeah, I think I will! See you later, Kinrou,” he said.
Kinrou waved goodbye and made his way to the toy store.
He better get a fucking silver spear. He might actually cry if he doesn’t.
“Gooood morning!” Kinrou yelled as he entered the store.
Magma looked up from his magazine.
“Hey,” he said.
Kinrou walked behind the counter and hung up his jacket next to Magma’s.
“So, what should I do first?” He asked.
Magma shrugged and threw a spare magazine at his face.
“It’s usually dead on Christmas, so you can pretty much just hang,” he said.
Kinrou plopped himself on the counter and set the magazine next to him.
“So… then what’s the point of opening the store at all?” He asked.
“I have nothing better to do.”
“Don’t you stay with your family?”
Magma scoffed and turned the page.
“No. Those fuckers don’t deserve to be in my presence,” he said bitterly.
“That’s okay, I suppose,” Kinrou said.
Magma looked up at him.
“You’re… not gonna ask why?”
“It’s not my place. Unless you want to talk about it, in which case go ahead, I’m all ears,” Kinrou said.
“No, I don’t really wanna talk about it’s just… usually, people ask,” he said.
“Well, usually people are nosy sons of bitches. I like to consider myself not that,” Kinrou said.
“Hey, if you don’t mind me changing the subject, when will the packages get here?” he asked.
“Two hours. Can you handle it?”
“Of course. I waited a full year for this toy, I can wait two more hours,” he said.
As they waited, Kinrou walked around and straightened a few toys because he needed to do SOMETHING with his hands. Stacking and restacking toys seemed perfect.
Finally, the delivery man came with the goods.
Kinrou was practically attached to Magma as he started to unload.
“Whoa,” he said, picking up one of the boxes.
He waited so long to hold one in his hands and honestly? He felt a little emotional.
“Ready to check out?” Magma asked. Kinrou nodded enthusiastically and set the toy down on the counter.
Magma rang it up and looked at Kinrou.
“That’ll be $10.45,” he said.
Kinrou’s eyes widened.
“That’s… that’s a lot cheaper than I thought it would be,” he admitted.
Magma shrugged.
“50% off,” he casually said.
“What? But I don’t even have a coupon-”
“This is on me. You helped out a lot yesterday and I appreciate it. This is honestly the least I could do,” he said.
Kinrou smiled and handed him the money.
“Thank you, Magma. I really appreciate this,” he said.
“No problem. Make sure to stop by sometime soon,” Magma said as he bagged the toy.
“I definitely will,” Kinrou promised.
He grabbed his bag and started towards the door. He turned around and waved goodbye to Magma before exiting the store.
He walked for a few minutes and he felt really happy but also sad? It didn’t sit well that Magma was spending Christmas sitting in a store.
They still barely knew each other, but they got along so well it didn’t even seem to matter that much.
He grabbed his phone and texted Ginrou.
K: hey, I’m on my way home but I wanted to ask you something
G: yeah, what’s up!
K: So, basically, there’s this guy.
G: oh???
K: He helped me a lot with my gift for you and doesn’t have anywhere to go this Christmas.
G: say no more, bro. Invite him over.
K: Are you sure? I don’t even know if he’ll say yes.
G: kinrou. Dude. my bro. Brother. Sibling of mine.
K: yes?
G: never, in the history of our LIFE have you ever wanted to invite someone over for ANYTHING.
G: Invite him or I’ll hunt him down and invite him for you.
K: If it’s really alright with you, then I will.
G: It’s totally cool with me.
K: Then I’ll be back soon either with him or not.
Kinrou shoved his phone in his pocket and started to walk back to the store.
God, was he crazy? He didn’t know Magma very well.
Maybe it wasn’t a good idea. As he approached the store, he saw Magma through the window looking bored out of his mind.
Kinrou felt his heart beating in his chest. He’s never been this nervous before.
But fuck, he could spend all DAY talking about how nervous and crazy he felt, but then we wouldn’t get around to what happened next and honestly? Who wants to live life like that?
Kinrou took a deep breath and entered the store.
Magma looked up and stared at him in confusion.
“Did you leave something here?” He asked.
“Well, no, not really. I just wanted to ask you something,” Kinrou said.
Magma sat up straighter and leaned forward, eager to hear his question.
“You don’t have to say yes, but would… you like to spend Christmas with my brother and I?” He asked.
“...What.”
“Well, I asked my brother and he said it was fine and I mean, spending Christmas alone kinda sounds sad. Unless that’s your cup of tea,” Kinrou said.
“You barely know me.”
“This is true.”
“And you want to spend Christmas together?”
“Why not? We already made weird choices together. Might as well add to the list. Besides, it’s not as if you’re an annoying person who I’m “pitying” or whatever,” Kinrou said.
Magma thought for a long time.
“...And you really wouldn’t mind?” He asked, skeptically.
Kinrou smiled and crossed his arms (which wasn’t easy while holding a bag).
“If I winded, I wouldn’t have walked all the way back here,” Kinrou said.
“Again, there’s literally no pressure, you don’t have to say yes. I just wanted to ask.”
“I- yeah, man. That sounds super crazy and you’ve sold me,” he said, standing up and grabbing his coat.
Kinrou smiled and waited as he got ready (silently thirsting over his muscles because god damn).
He couldn’t b e l i e v e he agreed to go with him. He felt like he was in a cheesy fanfiction… :)
The two walked back to Kinrou’s house, happily chatting away.
Kinrou could already tell this was going to be an amazing Christmas.