Chapter Text
Youichi steps out of his old pick-up and stretches. The mid-morning air is cool, but Youichi knows that won’t last long as time passes. Summers are hot and unforgivingly dry here, heat lasting well into the evening hours of the day. He’s grateful that his job is appropriate for the hot summers, giving him some relief during the day.
Grabbing his bag, Youichi walks into work with some time to spare. The gates to the pool haven’t opened to the public yet, and everyone who works up front in the snack bar is getting ready for the onslaught of hungry kids and teenagers.
“You’re early,” Ryousuke greets him by the snack bar, eyebrow raised.
“You say that like I’m late like every day,” He frowns.
It’s too early to be perceived by Ryousuke, way too early; though Youichi would never even consider talking back to her when she’s older than him by a year. Ryousuke likes to capitalize on her seniority, and the fact that she helped Youichi get this job.
Ryousuke shrugs, “I’m just saying.”
From behind the snack bar, Youichi notices that Eijun isn’t his usual loud self in the morning or complaining to Haruichi about God knows what. Some of his other co-workers are gathered up with him, eerily quiet.
“What’s going on?” Youichi asks Ryousuke.
“New guy.”
“New guy?”
Ryousuke points off toward the pool where Eijun and the others are looking. Youichi turns his head, and by the pool stands their boss Tesshin and a guy Youichi’s never seen before. The new guy is clearly from out of town, because Yoichi knows every person his age that lives here and goes to school with him. New guy is rather friendly with their boss, maybe a little too friendly to simply be work acquaintances, and has this cheeky ass grin on his face. Youichi already reckons he’ll be annoying.
“Doesn’t look like he’s from around here,” He voices his thoughts.
“Boss was saying he’s from the city!” Ah, Eijun’s finally interjected himself into the conversation.
Ryousuke rounds on him, “Don’t gossip.”
“I’m not gossiping!”
“It kind of sounds like you’re gossiping,” Youichi tacks on, which has Eijun frustrated and groaning in a matter of seconds.
Eijun huffs from behind the counter, “You two are so hard to work with!”
Ryousuke and Youichi share a snicker. It’s typical of Ryousuke and him to gang up on Eijun, along with the rest of the crew at the pool.
Youichi turns his attention back to the new guy, more curious than he’d like to admit. He has tons of questions when he sees new people arrive into town. It’s a small place, not big like the city, quaint where everyone knows everyone and too boring of a place to vacation, at least in Youichi’s eyes. It confuses him when anyone new decides to show up here.
Eijun must’ve noticed him staring, “I tried talking to him, but he’s a weird guy.”
“You’re gossiping again,” Ryousuke smirks.
“I’m not!” Eijun groans must to Youichi’s amusement. “I had trouble lugging in the boxes this morning and he laughed and called me weak! I’m not weak! I have a pitcher’s strength!”
Youichi rolls his eyes, figuring Eijun’s just talking out his ass like he usually does when he gets riled up like this, “How does that make him weird?”
Eijun stares at him like he’s grown a second head, “You don’t call someone weak to someone you’ve just met! That’s rude!”
“Maybe he was just pointing out the obvious,” Ryousuke smirks again.
Eijun whines at the comment, ready to respectfully disagree with Ryousuke until Tesshin seems done with their loitering around, loudly ordering them to get ready for their shifts. Youichi does so, dropping his bag off in the break room behind the snack bar and grabbing one of the rescue tubes. New guy walks into the break room but doesn’t speak to anyone, and Youichi doesn’t dare say anything, figures he should get to his post rather than try to engage in shallow conversation with some guy from the city.
He can introduce himself later, something he loathes. Strangers tend to get the wrong impression of him, labeling him as some rowdy teenager stuck in this po-dunk little town.
Just as Youichi’s about to leave, Jun centers all the attention of the break room on him and the new guy, “New guy! Good to meet you!” Jun yells with his hand out for a handshake.
New guy looks down at Jun’s hand then back at him, “Are you always this loud?”
“What the hell?!” Jun roars, but the whole break room is trying to hide their hysterics.
Jun and Eijun are easily the loudest employees at the pool. There’s no denying it, but for some stranger to walk in and deem Jun as so without hesitation is ballsy.
Youichi leaves as he hears Jun yelling from the break room, and Ryousuke is only a few steps behind him, “He’s interesting.”
Interesting to Ryousuke might as well be praise.
Not one to make quick impressions of others, Youichi shrugs, “Yeah, that’s one word for him.”
It’s only been a week since summer started, but Youichi’s already used to the routine: telling kids not to run around the pool, not to roughhouse in the water, and general supervision. The days are pretty easy as a lifeguard in the summer unless the rare emergencies happen. Today is the same as any day, well, with the exception of the new guy as the only new anomaly to the daily normal.
The new guy hasn’t caused any problems - it’s just different having someone new around. Since two years ago, it’s been the same people that work here, not much changes at the job or around town.
Youichi doesn’t get a chance to actually talk to the new guy until lunch.
He’s surprised to see him sitting alone out in the parking lot and not in the break room with the others. Youichi only runs into him because he eats his lunch on the tailgate of his truck, and the new guy is sitting on the curb near his vehicle.
It’s the first time he takes a decent look at him, and Youichi definitely gets the city vibes from him. Maybe Eijun’s gossiping wasn’t just gossip.
“Hey...” Youichi stands awkwardly before the new guy and his truck.
It’s not like he’s totally unfriendly despite what people believe. He’ll at least say hi.
New guy looks up at him, and Youichi can’t read his face. That’s going to bother him.
“Hey,” New guy says.
They’re stuck staring at each other for a second, and Youichi’s uncomfortable; though he remembers being the new guy Ryousuke brought in two years ago to the crew, but Youichi already knew everyone. This poor guy doesn’t. He guesses he should do more than just say hi.
“Do you wanna have lunch together or something?” Youichi figures he should ask.
New guy blinks up at him before he breaks out into the shitty ass smirk from earlier this morning, “You don’t have to force yourself.”
“What, no - I’m not forcing myself!” Youichi clicks his tongue. He was only trying to be friendly. “And you can say no...it’s not gonna hurt my feelings.”
With a snicker, new guy stands up with his lunch, “No, no.” He adjusts his glasses, “I guess I’ll join you.”
“Now look who’s forcing himself.”
“I’m not.”
Yeah, Ryousuke’s right, he is an interesting guy.
“Whatever. Come this way,” Youichi beckons with his hand before leading the new guy to the back end of his truck and propping the tailgate down. He hoists himself up and pats the spot next to him, “Here.”
“Classy,” New guy grins, and for some reason that gets under his skin.
“Hey, it works.”
The new guy hops up to sit next to Youichi, unwrapping the sandwich he brought with him as Youichi pulls out his lunch from his bag. Between them there’s nothing but the sound of wrappers and kids yelling from the pool, and neither him or Youichi has tried to make conversation. It’s awkward.
“What’s your name?” Because Youichi’s yet to have the chance to ask until now.
“It’s Kazuya,” Kazuya answers without looking at him, picking at his sandwich.
“I’m Youichi,” He introduces himself.
Kazuya answers with an assuming tone, “I know.”
“Wait - how do you know?” Youichi doesn’t like where this is headed.
“Tesshin told me about you,” Kazuya explains, turning to him with a smirk.
Youichi knows he’s not a bad employee, so why the hell did Kazuya hear about him from their boss?
Kazuya snorts, “The look on your face is hilarious.”
“I’m not making a face ,” Youichi huffs defensively.
“It’s okay,” Kazuya begins, “he was only telling me that if I had any questions that I should come to you. He said you know the ropes pretty well.”
At least Tesshin wasn’t speaking ill of him, not like he would expect him to. Though for Kazuya to hear about Youichi in a positive light is a relief.
“Well, I’ve been coming here since I was kid. I should know how things work around here,” He says, biting into his own sandwich.
Kazuya hums and looks out into the parking lot, “That’s what I’ve been hearing.”
“Most of the people you meet here have grown up here and never left.”
“It’s not quite like that in the city,” There’s this look on Kazuya’s face that Youichi can’t quite put his finger on. He’d say it’s close to longing, like Kazuya yearns for a tight knit community that the city can’t provide. Though Youichi can’t say for sure, he just met the guy. “I better get back,” Kazuya wraps up his sandwich and hops off the tailgate of Youichi’s truck.
He frowns, “You didn’t finish.”
Kazuya shrugs, his voice easy and light like he’s joking, “First day jitters.”
“Right.”
Well, with how close everyone is, Kazuya probably is worried about fitting in.
“See you around, Youichi,” Kazuya offers a small wave before he’s heading back toward the entrance of the pool.
Once Kazuya’s left, Youichi tucks into his lunch before his break runs out.
While his conversation with Kazuya was short, he spends the rest of his lunch break thinking about it. Kazuya doesn’t have the usual air around him like most city folk do and it’s refreshing, different, and Youichi finds himself even more interested in Kazuya than he’d care to admit. His initial curiosity over the newcomer has only grown since this morning.
That curiosity only blossoms again when his shift ends and Youichi finds Kazuya sitting on one of the benches outside the pool, bathing in the evening sun that burns Youchi’s skin.
“Your shift ended almost an hour ago,” Youichi frowns, getting Kazuya’s attention.
Kazuya perks up at his voice, “Oh, yeah…”
There’s no reason for Kazuya to be hanging around after work other than waiting to talk to Tesshin or for a ride.
Rubbing at the back of his neck, Youichi offers, “You need a ride?”
“Are you always this generous to new people? First lunch and now a ride?”
Yeah, his initial assumption of Kazuya was right; Kazuya’s kind of a pain in the ass already.
Youichi rolls his eyes, “Do you need a ride or not?” He nearly chokes when Kazuya takes that moment and pulls out a flip phone, “Oh my god. I didn’t know they still made those.”
That pulls a frown onto Kazuya’s face, “It’s reliable.”
“It’s ancient ,” Kazuya decides not to dig his grave any further over the flip phone, but he makes no answer on Youichi’s offer. “Listen, I really don’t mind.”
He watches Kazuya chew on his bottom lip, like accepting this offer is going to kill him, “Okay.”
“Okay, let’s go.” Something about Kazuya accepting his offer feels bigger than it really is.
Youichi leads Kazuya to his pick-up and unlocks the doors, and when Miyuki hops in, there’s that smirk from earlier again, “Nice ride.” The nerve - what a little shit.
“Hey, don’t talk shit about my truck when you own a flip phone,” Youichi hates that he wants to say his ride is reliable just like what Miyuki said about his flip phone. He doesn’t give Miyuki room to comment and starts up the truck, “Where’s your place?”
Kazuya gives him the address and Youichi knows exactly where it is and starts driving.
“Do you just know where everything is and where everyone lives?” Kazuya asks, part curious and part amused.
“The perks of growing up here I guess,” Youichi shrugs.
Kazuya doesn’t say anything, so Youichi uses that moment to turn on the radio and let the silence be filled; though the silence between them oddly isn’t uncomfortable this time around.
Drumming his fingers on the steering wheel, Youichi figures he might as well ask while he’s got Kazuya’s in his truck, “You mentioned the city...why’re you here?”
“So direct!” Kazuya’s laugh is nasally.
“Shut up!” Youichi finds himself firing back without a second thought. “I’m curious.”
“Clearly,” Kazuya leans against the passenger side window like he’s already comfortable. “My Dad. He has some work here this summer, so I had to come along.”
“That sucks.”
Kazuya shrugs, “We’re staying with my aunt, so it’s not all bad. Plus, it’s kind of charming here.”
Before he can stop himself, Youichi blurts out, “Charmingly boring.”
Kazuya snorts, “You’re not from the city so I guess you wouldn’t get the appeal.”
“I guess.”
Youichi recognizes the street Kazuya’s place is on and turns, slowing down as he goes through the small residential neighborhood. Kazuya is lucky that he’s so close to town, because it easily takes Youichi a good twenty minutes to drive to work from his house. When he pulls up to the house, Youichi recognizes a woman out front that’s watering the front garden.
As Kazuya is about to hop out, Youichi drops his mouth, “Hey, wait, is Ms. Takashima your aunt?”
Kazuya blinks at him and then looks over to who is, without a doubt, the English teacher at his high school, “You mean Rei?” He asks, to which Youichi nods. “Yeah.”
It always is such a small world in this town, “She teaches English at the high school.”
“I’m pretty sure I know what my Aunt does for a living.”
Youichi raises an eyebrow, “You’re kind of a smart ass, you know that?”
Kazuya laughs again, nasally yet strangely endearing, “Thanks.”
“That’s not a compliment.”
Kazuya steps out of Youichi’s truck with a cheeky grin, “Thanks for the ride. I guess I owe you.”
“You don’t owe me anything,” Youichi says truthfully. He’d drive any of his co-workers home, whether they’re new or not. “I just drove you home.”
“Whatever you say,” Kazuya resigns. “See you tomorrow.”
“Yeah, see you.”
Kazuya shuts the truck door and walks into the garden, and Youichi can’t help but stare and watch as Kazuya greets Ms. Takashima with a smile that appears a little more genuine than what he’s been showing Youichi today. The last person he wants to notice him during the summer is his English teacher, so Youichi quickly pulls away after that.
Youichi realizes on his drive home that the curiosity he holds for Kazuya hasn’t waned even after some of his questions were answered. It’s already developed into an itch that he can’t stop scratching, and Youichi can’t remember the last time he’s been this interested in someone. Kazuya may be the type to easily get on his nerves, but he has a feeling that won't stop him. Surprised with himself, Youichi is looking forward to seeing Kazuya around more than he'd care to admit.