Chapter Text
Otsubo Taisuke had been an intimidating figure on the basketball court when he was in high school, but off it he was quite timid, especially when he got into college. He was a very large young man, and he knew that a lot of people would be scared of him if they didn’t know him. That’s why, at his job in the campus library, he tried to stay behind the counter as much as possible. He didn’t want to prevent people from coming in to study when they needed.
But getting up from behind the counter couldn’t be avoided if someone asked where a book was, if they couldn’t find it.
“Excuse me?” a young woman asked, twirling her hair around her finger flirtatiously.
Otsubo sighed internally. He wasn’t into women, and yet he still kept getting hit on by them. He tried not to encourage them, but every semester some new girls found out about him and told their friends. He was handsome and he knew it. He wouldn’t brag about it, of course, but he knew that girls found him very attractive. He wasn’t really in the dating pool, nor did he have a boyfriend, so he couldn’t rely on word of mouth for it to get around that he’s gay. It was getting really old.
“Yes, what can I help you with?” Otsubo smiled amicably, putting down his cleaning rag.
“Could you help me find a book for one of my classes?”
“Absolutely, what are you looking for?” he asked, turning to the computer to look through the data base.
“Actually, I know that you guys have it, I already looked it up, I just need some help finding it,” she smiled sheepishly.
Otsubo mentally cringed. He’d have to get out from behind the counter, and then this girl who couldn’t be any taller than five-three would see how much taller he was than her and then she’d be too scared to come to the library again. Then again, if she was trying to hit on him, that wouldn’t really be a problem. Good riddance to her if that was the case.
“Okay, what are you looking for?” he asked. “Just so I know where to look.”
She gave him the title and he nodded. “Actually, we just had that book checked in like an hour ago, so we haven’t gotten it back on the shelf yet. I know exactly where it is, so I'll go grab it for you,” he told her, smiling.
“Oh, thank you so much!” she grinned.
“Of course,” he nodded, getting up from his chair.
He saw the exact moment her smile became a bit strained once she realized how fucking tall he was and how he towered over her. Some girls thought his height was a turn-on, but evidently this was not one of those girls. He didn’t blame her, considering he was well over a foot taller than her. He knew he could be intimidating.
He decided to ignore it and made his way over to the room where they kept the returned books and grabbed the one she was looking for without really having to look for it.
“Did you scare another girl?” his coworker Kobori asked, a small smirk on his face as he saw the annoyed scowl on Otsubo’s.
“Shut up,” Otsubo sighed. “But yeah. I tried not to get up, but she needed this specific book,” he waved it at Kobori. “I’m so annoyed that Tae is the only girl who’s not afraid of me.”
“You don’t even care what girls think of you, don’t lie to yourself like that,” Kobori sighed.
“Okay, no, I don’t, but it doesn’t change the fact that I feel like such a monster next to them,” Otsubo sighed. “And I wish I could use my height as an advantage to help them feel safer, but I'm just... so big that they’re all scared of me.”
“First of all, I don’t doubt that you’re big, Otsubo, but you don’t have to brag about it,” Kobori smirked, winking at him. He got a quick smack to the back of the head for that remark. “Ow! Second of all, I’m not that much shorter than you. I know how you feel.”
Otsubo rolled his eyes. “Yeah, but you’re... softer looking than I am.”
“Are you calling me fat?” Kobori gasped, playfully putting a hand on his chest in mock offense.
“No, you doofus. You’re just... I dunno, you’re just more approachable than I am.”
“And yet you are the one who gets hit on by girls every day while I get hit on maybe once a week,” Kobori pointed out.
“Shut your mouth,” Otsubo hissed, giving Kobori a noogie. “Why can’t we just say that we’re dating? That would make things so much simpler for both of us. A fake office romance, why not?”
Kobori snorted. “Please. Do you really think that would go down very well considering my boyfriend’s tendency to overthink things?”
Otsubo sighed, thinking of Moriyama. “Yeah, you’re right, and I wouldn’t want to do that to him.”
“But you’d gladly make me pretend to be your boyfriend if I was single, wouldn’t you?” Kobori playfully batted his eyelashes. “We could have a whole fake dating arc in our lives!”
“I will strangle you in your sleep,” Otsubo shook his head, finally walking back out the door to return to the counter.
The girl was looking around the library, like she’d never been in before, and Otsubo sighed before pasting a smile on his face.
“I got your book for you,” he said, holding it up for her to see.
“Ah, thank you so much,” she nodded, fidgeting with her fingers. “Can I just check it out right now?”
“Of course, do you have your student ID?”
Otsubo checked out the book for the girl and she quickly made her way out of the library.
He groaned and lightly smacked his head against the table. “Why do I have to be so needlessly tall?” he muttered to himself.
“Are you lamenting your existence again, Taisuke?” a familiar voice asked from above him.
“Shut up, Tae, maybe I am,” he grumbled, looking up to see his little sister’s smirking face. “I’m just so annoyed.”
“C’mon, at least you’ll probably find some guy someday that’s just as tall as you are.”
He sat up straight to look at her. “Tae. I’m a giant, I doubt there are any guys around here that are anywhere close to as tall as I am.”
She shrugged, fiddling with the pens in the cup on the counter. “Kobori’s just about as tall as you. And I mean, I’ve seen some pretty tall guys around. There’s a few in my classes. And you’re trying to tell me that after playing basketball all three years in high school you believe that there aren’t any guys close to your height?”
“Not if I don’t play basketball, no,” he rolled his eyes. “And before you ask, no, I am not joining the basketball team. I’ve told you that a million times. Nor am I ever going to date Kobori since he has a boyfriend and they’re practically married already.”
“But why not?” she whined. “You were so good when you were in high school! You literally made it to nationals all three years!!!”
“Tae, we are in the library,” he reminded her tersely, putting his finger in front of his mouth. “And just because I was good then doesn’t mean I’m good now.”
She let out an annoyed huff and slapped her palms on the counter top. “Taisuke! You were in the top four in the Winter Cup in the country! You know what universities would kill to have you on their team?! Ours would! So go and fucking join the basketball team already!” She pointed toward the door, nearly screaming at him at this point.
“I already told you, I will not join the basketball team!” He hadn’t really even touched a basketball since he graduated high school, and he didn’t intend to again. “Now, if you’re going to continue to make a ruckus, I insist that you leave. You’re disturbing the other patrons.”
“Fine,” she huffed, narrowing her eyes. “But the team really could use a player like you, Taisuke. And who knows, you might find a nice guy who meets your standards.”
She stomped out and Otsubo finally relaxed a little bit.
Kobori came out of the back room, an eyebrow raised. “A little family spat there or something?” he asked.
“Something like that,” Otsubo ran a hand through his hair. “She’s still trying to convince me to join the basketball team here.”
Kobori shrugged. “Why don’t you? I mean, you went to Shuutoku.”
“Yeah, but you aren’t on the basketball team either and you went to Kaijo.”
“In my defense, Shuutoku was better than Kaijo,” Kobori pointed out.
“I just...” Otsubo frowned. “I can’t.”
Kobori waited for a moment to elaborate before he shrugged. “Just tell her that, then.”
“I’ve tried and she can’t get it through her thick skull. She doesn’t get it.”
“If that’s what you think, then I guess you just have to suffer,” Kobori patted his back. “In any case, my shift is over, so I'll see you later, okay?”
“You’re off early today?” Otsubo scrunched his eyebrows. “I thought you had the closing shift with me.”
“Nope, I'm going to meet my boyfriend for dinner after he finishes practice.”
“Well aren’t you lucky.”
“I am, very much so. Because I have a boyfriend.”
“Go lick an electrical socket,” Otsubo flipped his friend off as he left.
Kobori and Moriyama had been dating since they graduated high school and the way they got together was a sickeningly sweet story and Otsubo secretly kind of wished something that sappy would happen to him. But... here he was, working at a university library and hoping for his manic pixie dream boy to come while he checked books in and out.
Obviously that hadn’t happened and here he was, in his last year and about to graduate with a degree he didn’t really even want. He wasn’t sure what he wanted in life, and that was precisely the problem. He wanted a sugar daddy or something, so he wouldn’t have to deal with all this bullshit.
He drummed his fingers on the counter, resting his chin in his other hand. He looked bored; he knew he did. But that wasn’t an invitation for yet another girl to come up to him and start to hit on him.
He didn’t really even listen to what she said, he was too lost in his head.
“Yes, what can I help you with?” he asked, shaking his head to empty the thoughts. He was at work and as much as it was kind of mindless, he still had to be present when there were patrons asking him questions.
“Um... I was just wondering when the library closes?” she said, biting her lip.
God, she was not even trying to be subtle. And that just really pissed him off.
“The sign’s on the door. We close at eight tonight, cause it’s Sunday,” he said gruffly.
“Oh, thank you,” she gave him a dazzling smile that would’ve made other men swoon. “Are you doing anything afterwards?
God, did he just have to get a fucking sign that said, “Do not flirt unless you’re a man” and drape it over his neck? Usually he wasn’t too bothered with it and would shrug it off, but for some reason Kobori rubbing Otsubo’s face in the fact that he had a boyfriend ticked him off more than usual.
“I have to study for my exams after work, yes,” he said tersely. “And I’m afraid that’s all I've got on my mind for the next few weeks.”
“Oh, I see. Well, good luck with studying, then,” she smiled tightly and immediately walked back out.
He heard the door open once more and he was going to fucking scream if it was another girl who was going to flirt with him.
Thankfully it was just one of the regulars that came into the library and he waved at Otsubo as he practically ran past the counter. Otsubo waved back and smirked at him. “You know what time it is, right?” he said to the guy.
“Yeah, yeah, I know, I'll be fast!”
He did, indeed, speed walk through the library, and Otsubo figured he should message his coworkers to make sure that everything was going okay on their ends.
He sent an internal message up to the second and third floors, and before he could send one to the other side of his floor, yet another person came through the door.
And as Otsubo looked over to tell them that they were closing soon, his heart nearly stopped.
Damn.
The guy was tall, maybe even taller than Otsubo. He tried not to appear overly interested in the giant of a man, but like... how could he not?
Kobori often teased him for now knowing what his type of guy was, but suddenly Otsubo just knew. This was the type of guy he was interested in.
He probably wasn’t what most people would consider attractive or even handsome. He had a burly appearance, rather prominent cheekbones, and his eyebrows were thick. He had a hat on, so Otsubo couldn’t tell what his hair looked like, but he could be bald and it wouldn’t make him any less attractive. He looked over at Otsubo’s desk and made a beeline for him, making his heart beat faster.
‘It’s okay, Taisuke, it’s just the most attractive guy you’ve ever seen coming over, oh my god, it’s fine, calm down. He’s so hot what the fuck oh my god.’
Otsubo tried to calm himself and actually smiled instead of putting on the fake customer service smile he usually had. “Hi, can I help you with anything?” he asked.
The guy rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, and Otsubo could’ve sworn there was a hint of pink on his cheeks. “Yeah, I was just wondering if you could guide me in the direction of this book? A friend needs it for one of his classes and he asked me to see if you had it,” he said, sliding a piece of paper over the counter to Otsubo.
Otsubo blinked. That was the lamest excuse he’d ever heard, and honestly if a girl said that, he’d immediately be on his guard. But... was it too much to hope that this guy was actually hitting on him? This absolute unit of a man?
Because Otsubo would not be opposed to that in any way.
“Yeah, I can – oh.” He looked at the paper and he nearly choked on his spit when he saw what was written. A phone number.
“Yeah, so...” the guy fiddled with his fingers. “Sorry, that was so lame. I just...”
“This your number?” Otsubo couldn’t help the fluttering in his stomach.
The guy nodded. “It’s totally fine if you don’t wanna call or text or... whatever, I just... think you’re really handsome and wanted to get to know you better.”
Otsubo’s heart combusted. He was going to marry this man if it killed him.
“Hmm, I would like to know the name of my potential date before agreeing to actually go out with him,” he cupped his cheek and leaned his elbow on the desk, his fingers tapping on the paper.
“Oh, uh... Okamura. Okamura Kenichi,” he smiled awkwardly and Otsubo could not handle this, what the fuck he was so cute.
This guy was so handsome, this had to be a dare or something, right? Because what were the odds of him just stumbling in and giving Otsubo his number without some kind of catch?
“Well, then, Okamura, I’ll gladly take your number. And I might text you later.”
Okamura’s face lit up in a smile and Otsubo could hardly restrain himself from clutching his chest at how precious it was.
“Okay! Um... no pressure or anything, just... y’know, if you feel like it!” Okamura waved and left the library, leaving Otsubo looking after him and biting his lip.
He wanted to text Okamura, so bad, but honestly he’d never been in a relationship before. And he didn’t want to trust Tae with this, because she would probably tell him that if he was ugly he shouldn’t waste his time.
But he was exactly what Otsubo was looking for in a partner. At least, looks-wise. Maybe they wouldn’t be compatible, but Otsubo wanted to give it a try. He’d never actually found someone before that he wanted to date.
But Okamura was very different from everyone that had ever tried to hit on him, and Otsubo was intrigued. He deserved a chance.
