Archive of Our Own

Well. When his boss and colleagues weren't around that is.

So it was definitely not a surprise when a young woman named Izumi Tachibana was suddenly put in his care for her first day. Had it not been for his image of being such a reliable employee, he wouldn't have wasted so much time guiding this girl around the office.

His hour of quietly grinding a game in his cubicle as he tapped at the keys on his keyboard was gone.

The girl seemed eager to learn though, as he noticed the worn-out notebook that sat in her palm, filled with lines of elegant, but at the same time scratchy writing. She took note of where everything was, to the printer room and to the washroom.

He didn't want to admit, but the girl was a joy to walk around the office with. She managed to casually slip in a small joke here and there as they ventured down the hallways together and Itaru loved it.

He wasn't really one for being called senpai, nor did he fancy being treated as such either. It's what made it difficult for him to become friends with his colleagues because the formalities were so stifling.

So thank goodness Izumi seemed to think the same.

The look on his face when he found out the girl was going to be working at the cubicle right across from him was priceless, and the two with their newly formed friendship quietly high fived each other due to the good luck that was bestowed upon them.

They hit it off so well as friendly coworkers that the people around them began to murmur, mostly out of jealousy.

Itaru Chigasaki was the one colleague everyone wanted to be close to, but his aloof demeanour and uninterested gaze made it difficult for others to approach. And somehow the newbie, Izumi, was already able to close the gap between them.

The young woman was oblivious to the whispers and glares that persisted over the months, and Itaru wasn't sure if it was okay to be impressed or amused by this dense trait of hers.

She definitely had a good sense for noticing presences though. The few times Itaru was too distracted by the game in his cabinet Izumi was there to warn him when their boss was heading their way.

She'd actually shoot a paper airplane into his face, crafted out of a red post-it note to get Itaru to gently slam the cabinet shut for when the boss was only a few metres away. A yellow paper airplane would signal that their boss wasn't too close, but was still heading towards them, while a blue paper airplane was reserved for colleagues who were likely to approach him for 'help' or an evening out together.

Honestly? There could have been better, much more subtle ways to deal with their mutual opponents, but Izumi seemed to hate how boring it was in the office. Sure, it's a professional workplace, and sure, maybe her and Itaru are the youngest pair of workers in here, but it wouldn't kill anyone to have a loud conversation for everyone to hear.

But still. Itaru wasn't one to get distracted.

Okay, the phones in his cabinet were a bit of a hindrance, but that's not the point. Itaru never lets anything get in his way when he needs to get work done, so the one time Izumi wasn't present, he had no idea why he was being so slow.

He thought at first it was because he had to be his own lookout for the day, head turning side to side more times than he could count as he anxiously clutched his phone in his lap rather than in his cabinet.

He also had to deal with his colleagues. There was no Izumi to drag around to 'photocopy' files with him that day, so there were a lot of people approaching him during her absence.

Itaru was miserable.

The day she came back, Itaru felt like the Heavens were opening up to him— or something equivalent to receiving that SSR you've always wanted during a solo-pull. Whatever.

"Miss Tachibana," Itaru sighed in relief when he heard the familiar tap of her heels scratching against the carpeted floor and leaned back in his chair, a hand already coming up to run through his mop of hair, "oh, how I've missed you."

The scoff that left her as she set her materials down on her desk was nothing but amused, her eyes trailing from her folders to look at Itaru with a playful smile. "You've become dependent on me, huh? I've only been sick for a few days."

"Few too many." He sighed honestly. "The boss caught me twice last week."

She whistled lowly, not caring that there were a few colleagues of theirs already glaring at her over their cubicle dividers.

She had no idea what everyone's problem with her was, but there were a few instances where some of them have actually tried to report her to their boss.

Thankfully, the old man had more faith in her, rivalling the trust he had in Itaru as he told her in private that he knew Izumi wasn't a bad character at all. He said something about jealousy as well, but decided not to touch bases on that so she was left in the dark.

"Your gamer reflexes are dwindling. I don't want to call it pathetic, but.." She pursed her lips with raised eyebrows, Itaru squinting at her behind his glasses.

"Pathetic." They said simultaneously, Itaru sadly acknowledging it while Izumi only stood there and smiled.

The blond man quietly exhaled and nodded his head, eyes glaring at his computer screen when Izumi giggled behind her hand at the unfortunate revelation. She didn't even wipe away that happy expression from her face when she threw a red, crumpled post-it note at him, her body turning a few degrees to bow respectfully towards their boss who had shown up out of nowhere.

"Welcome back, Tachibana-san! We've missed you." Their boss crooned like a singing blackbird, barely nodding at the healthy looking employee while he held a small file out for her. "Take it easy today. Whatever you can't do, feel free to hand it over to Chigasaki-kun."

The notion from their boss left the two youngsters surprised, but Izumi, being more impulsive, immediately accepted the offer and took the file with a grateful bow. "Will do!"

The old man chuckled as if he was talking to his favourite granddaughter before turning to Itaru with a mischievous smile. "Don't get distracted today, alright?" He went to go and pat Itaru on the shoulder before walking away to check on other colleagues, causing a mix of confusion and embarrassment to fester within the blond.

And with that and a lot of time before the work day ended, Izumi and Itaru made sure to focus on the task at hand. Their cubicle was probably the loudest today, not because they were talking, but because their fingers were typing at a speed that could only leave people breathless with amazement.

Izumi was finished after a mere four hours due to the small file she was given and offered her assistance to Itaru who was staring hard at his computer with furrowed brows.

"I'll be fine. Just go get some refreshments from the break room or somethin'." He mumbled, pen trapped between his lips as his eyes darted back between his files and his screen.

Probably not a good idea to let her walk off like that.

A few minutes of typing later, Itaru's gaze trailed towards the doorway of the break room to see Izumi talking to another colleague. Still with a cup in her hand, she spoke to them animatedly, and her eyes seemed to sparkle with delight as they touched on a subject she seemed to be passionate about.

Itaru looked away, fingers still tapping at his keyboard but at a slower pace than before. His mind was telling him to take a break on his phone, even if only for a second or two, or maybe even risk pulling out his old DS to check on his Animal Crossing village (I don't know I've only played New Horizons).

But then his mind went to Izumi who was still talking to whoever was there in that room with her, and his knee started bouncing. His fingers were twitching and hitting the wrong keys and he had to take a look at his papers twice to see if he looked at the numbers right.

Itaru was getting distracted.

He didn't want to admit that he was paying more attention to her than the workload that was sitting right in front of him. He didn't want to admit that his ears picked up on the sound of her giggle all the way from where she stood, no matter how quiet it was.

He didn't want to admit that she was slowly becoming his distraction.

He felt like he was sighing a lot today when he let out another exhale and slumped in his chair with a frown. He was in Izumi's line of sight from the break room when she held up her pinky and ring finger, hoping he'd see.

He saw the signal after a second of rubbing his face due to stress and jolted upright in his seat, startling the colleague who had snuck up on him all of a sudden.

"Chigasaki-san, I was wondering if—"

"Sorry." He said with a quick smile, interrupting the woman as he began to put the papers he finished into his nearly empty (he finishes his work on time) filing cabinet. "I've been meaning to take a break for a while. Please excuse me."

Sliding out of his work chair, Itaru bowed kindly and nudged his cabinet closed with his foot, resisting the urge to shove his hands into his pant pockets when he stood at his full height. He masked his gaze of annoyance by sending his colleague a subtle wink instead, and made a beeline towards the break room where Izumi still was.

He walked briskly to avoid any other coworkers who wanted to talk, bowing his head whenever someone else came too close. He walked so fast to the point where his heart was actually racing by the time he made it into the room, distracting Izumi from her oh-so interesting conversation with the man in front of her.

"Oh, Chigasaki-san! Came here to take a break?" The coworker Itaru didn't know the name of asked him curiously, noticing how Izumi stopping talking mid-sentence. There was a small glimmer to his eyes when Itaru pushed himself off the doorway, and the blond didn't like it one bit.

He straightened his vest with a kind albeit tired smile and shook his head, motioning towards Izumi who was finishing the last sip of water in her cup.

"No, actually, I need some assistance from Tachibana-san. I hope you don't mind me borrowing her for a bit."

Their colleague backed away from Izumi with a crooked smile, motioning towards the confused woman who was now throwing away her disposable cup. She tilted her head with a perplexed scrunch of her nose as Itaru began a staring contest with the other guy, keeping their eyes locked while he trailed behind Izumi who had already left the room.

Once Itaru readjusted the collar to his button down the pair began their trek down to the photocopy room. Izumi noticed how there were no files in Itaru's hands whatsoever, but decided not to comment on it, pressing her lips together to prevent an amused smile from making its way onto her face.

"I hate office romances." He groaned loudly once he heard the click of the door locking behind them, resting his weight against the printer by the door while Izumi leaned back against the counter parallel to him.

Her eyes squinted upon hearing what Itaru had to say, her fingers fiddling around with the fabric of her long sleeved blouse.

"You're currently playing a dating sim that's set in the workplace though." She remarked, gently reminding Itaru that he was contradicting himself.

"You got me there," he pinched his bottom lip between his thumb and index finger, staring thoughtfully at the popped open button of Izumi's blouse that teased him with a small glimpse of her collarbone, "but I meant IRL."

Izumi scoffed, the smile finally making an appearance on her face. "None of our colleagues are dating though." Her smile quickly disappeared and she leaned into Itaru's bubble. "Unless you witnessed a pair during their rendezvous?"

Nosiness was definitely an endearing trait to Izumi when it was paired with her density, and it made Itaru smile just a little bit.

"Hm. Whatever you were doing with Mister Whoever earlier was a bit suspicious, don't you think?"

"Oh, stop." Izumi sighed, shaking her head. "I don't know what's with everyone always talking to me about that guy. There's nothing going on between us."

That made Itaru scrunch his nose.

"Um." He cleared his throat. "Press X to Doubt."

"Oh, you are so annoying." Izumi griped with a roll of her eyes, vaguely remembering the time she let Itaru waste her time by making her sit through his playthrough of L.A. Noire. She was invited to his house believing that they were going to use the spare time to finish her mountains of paperwork, but Itaru had ended up getting bored and played a video game while leaving Izumi to her own devices.

They both had to pull an all-nighter because the blond wanted to fuck around at the worst time possible.

"Hey, don't get mad at me." Itaru raised his hands up in defense of himself and tucked his bottom lip between his teeth to subdue the smile that was about to show up. "You were being distracting." He pointed an accusing, but playful finger at Izumi.

"I wasn't even loud or close enough for you to be distracted; unless you were busy staring or being jealous of the fact that I have guy friends that aren't you." She pointed a finger right back at Itaru who was now pouting, and she poked the man right in the sternum with a teasing smile. "I know I'm cute and all, but c'mon."

"You were having too much fun with him." Itaru complained as if he were a child stubbornly trying to keep his toys to himself and Izumi sighed at the semblance. She always wondered how Itaru managed to have two completely different personas depending on the environment he was in; and she was just lucky enough to have witnessed both sides.

"Sorry, my sweet husband." Izumi rolled her eyes with a mockingly exasperated sigh and leaned back against the counter, her arms propped up behind her. "I forgot that I can only have fun with you." She scoffed, letting her head fall back just the slightest so she could roll her neck and get rid of any stiff muscles.

And right here, Itaru would've said something snarky to retaliate. God, how badly he wanted to. The only thing that prevented him from biting back was the fact that Izumi called him 'husband', along with the eye opening revelation that she looked really pretty when she exposed the expanse of her throat like that.

Itaru.. was pretty sure he was losing his mind.

"I didn't know I maxed out your love-metre already. I had no idea we got married." He murmured to himself, not knowing that he was sounding like an idiot in front of Izumi. Not that she minded, but, like, if she had less self-control she'd definitely be decking the man in the face right now.

"With what you just said right in front of me, that love-metre just went all the way down to zero."

"Ah.. Tough crowd. People make flirting sound way too easy." His bland stare met Izumi's in a face off for a brief second or two until the woman snapped out of her annoyed daze to register the words that came out of Itaru's mouth.

Him? Flirting? Not the first two words she'd pair up together, but she was pleasantly surprised to say the least.

It was a curious thing, though. Izumi didn't take Itaru as a guy who found a normal girl like her to be any sort of attractive to him. He seemed a bit too untouchable to her; looking like a heartthrob she'd have a crush on in high school as well as having that adorably goofy side to balance it out.

She didn't really take Itaru as someone who would try and flirt with her of all people in the workplace.

"You're making it seem like you're interested in me, Its. Don't you think that's a bit unfair?" She crossed her arms again with a contemplative frown that had Itaru frowning right back at her. He didn't understand what she meant by that and he didn't feel like asking for the finer details, but he had a small inkling that she thought he was only playing around like usual.

But this.. wasn't the usual. To him at least.

He began to pretend that he was checking his cuff links as he looked for the right thing to respond with, his mouth opening and closing a few times.

He didn't want to outright confess to her, but it felt like it was going to be the only option if he didn't say anything now. He was just worried that there was a chance she'd reject him, laugh and punch him in the shoulder as she told him to stop joking and that it wasn't funny.

Itaru got so attached to Izumi despite knowing her for only a year, but he couldn't remember what it was like before she showed up. Every workday, he'd be looking at her, or he'd be wondering what she was doing in a different department another day. He looked forward to having those whispered conversations in the corner of the break room and the wasteful usage of post-it note airplanes being thrown at his face.

He didn't realise how much he liked Izumi and enjoyed her company this much until today, when he couldn't focus. When his mind kept wandering to her. When his eyes looked for her. The days she was on sick leave, Itaru had no idea it was going to be that difficult to even get through the workday. It felt like it had gone longer without her sitting across from him.

His long pause of silence left Izumi a little worried; wondered if what she said made Itaru uncomfortable. She didn't mean to, but Izumi didn't want to indulge him if he was only teasing her.

"Hey.. Stop thinking so hard." She laughed softly, but the furrow of her brows showed how concerned she was as she took a step toward the man who was at a loss for words. "Are you alright?" Her voice was gentle while a hand came up to reach for Itaru's tie, the other one unbuttoning his suit jacket to let her hold onto the silk fabric and grab his attention.

"Hm? Oh.. Yes." The man snapped out of his inner monologue when he felt a tug at his neck, seeing that Izumi had her lithe fingers wrapped up in his tie. She was sulking and had a pout on her face, much to Itaru's delight, and he stood up a little taller to look down at Izumi with the smile that he secretly reserved for her. "Sorry. I was wondering how I was gonna tell you that I like you."

Izumi paused. She didn't know what this meant.

The only thing she knew how to respond with was to laugh and to brush it off, but she could barely even manage that.

The laugh that was rising in her throat quickly died down when her eyes flickered upwards and met Itaru's honest gaze, and she gulped nervously.

"You're just playing with me, right?" Her voice was quiet as she tried to make herself believe that Itaru was just joking, but with the way he was staying silent, it told her that nobody was playing any games here.

They were the pair having a rendezvous.

"Do you want me to?" He murmured quietly, still not over the fact that Izumi had his tie in her hand and how badly he wanted her to pull on it; pull on it and make him lean down to kiss her.

He was itching to put his hands on her waist, to back her up against the counter she was leaning on earlier. He wanted to hear how her breath would catch in her throat when he'd lean down and just barely ghost his lips over hers. He wanted to hear her whisper that they shouldn't be doing this in the printer room of all places and have the grip she had on his tie contradict her statement.

His feelings were about to spill even more than they had already, but he wanted to wait for Izumi to make the first move.

Please make the first move.

"You're lying." She whispered meekly, eyes soft but accusing. Her fingers tightened around his tie just the slightest and it had Itaru's body going numb with excitement. Every little pull of the fabric made Itaru loom over her until the tips of their noses were almost touching, and he made sure that she was looking into his eyes as he slowly trapped her between himself and the counter, removing his glasses from his face and setting them down.

He let his hands rest on either side of Izumi and rest his forehead against hers with a tender smile.

"Never. Not to you." His chuckle was barely audible, but to Izumi, she could hear it loud and clear. His smiling eyes made her heart pound violently in her chest and she very desperately wanted to kiss him.

So she did.

It was chaste at first.

Her lips made brief contact with Itaru's and she pulled away before he could react, worried that he wouldn't return the affection.

Except that she was worried for no reason, and he reciprocated with much more intense feelings than she ever knew he could hold. With a subtle lick of his lip, Itaru's hands found the curve of Izumi's waist atop the thin material of her blouse and pulled her in with enough force to have the woman gasp.

Their mouths slotted together in a passionate kiss as the tip of Itaru's tongue lightly touched the soft cushion of her lip, causing her to subconsciously open up the seam that would invite Itaru to explore every sweet crevice of her mouth.

The gentle sighs that escaped Izumi were on the verge of sounding like a whimper, her fingers clinging onto the front of his shirt as their tongues made contact with a delicate flick. Itaru's teeth came down to capture the tip of her tongue when he found it, and he sucked on the muscle while his fingers dug into her sides.

Itaru wondered how long he'd wanted to do this for; how badly he so wanted to bite her whenever she poked her tongue at him in a teasing manner; when she licked her lip to catch the cream of a dessert that didn't make it into her mouth. He loved it when they'd go out drinking together because of this cute little tongue he had under his control; absolutely adored the way alcohol would spill from it whenever she was drunk out of her mind.

Her sweet, quiet moan reached Itaru's ears, and he was brought back to reality. He felt Izumi's palms press into his chest as she pulled away with a weak gasp, but he didn't stop. He couldn't. His lips found its way to her jaw next, kept going down with heated kisses until he met the length of her neck where she kept that pretty throat.

His mouth was hot against her skin as he pressed a flurry of kisses to her neck, teeth threatening to mark her as he bit at every sensitive spot she had, as if he already knew everything about her body.

He was getting lightheaded.

"Itaru.." She sighed, the last syllable of his name falling from her lips like a whine. "We can't do this here.. We'll get caught."

He ignored her in favour of forcing her head back with the nudge of her chin with his nose, lips sending wet kisses down the expanse of her throat with the tip of his tongue following suit right after.

"Ah– Chigasaki!" Izumi hissed in shock when he gave a particularly sharp nip to a sweet spot on her neck, causing a hand to fly up into his hair so she could forcibly pull him away.

"Don't leave marks, idiot." She thwacked a dazed looking Itaru on the chest, her embarrassment quickly being overrun by annoyance. With a skilled hand, she buttoned up her previously opened blouse just in case marks bloomed on her skin earlier all the while scolding a content Itaru, her hand still buried in his hair.

"We've been here too long. We should go back." Izumi murmured as she fixed the mess she made atop his head, already back to her professional persona (well– she never had one).

"Wow. You're super cute when you try to act like a serious office worker." Itaru said monotonously, but his eyes were filled with something akin to adoration. He was smiling dopily while Izumi readjusted his tie and made sure that his suit jacket was buttoned again, her expression unimpressed.

"And you're super annoying." She finally flashed him that teasing smile he always loved to see, flattening Itaru's tie against his chest. "As always."

She went up on her toes to place one more kiss to Itaru's reddened lips, laughing quietly when his cheeks became a faint rouge at the unexpected action. 

Izumi went to unlock the doorknob that would free them from the printer room, but Itaru decided to open up his mouth to say something dumb, all the while putting on the glasses that made him look like a hard worker.

"Press Square to Kiss Your Wife."

"Shut up."