Work Text:
Sawamura rushes onto the bus while trying to look like he isn’t rushing, that he didn’t miss his usual bus because he had dismissed his alarm instead of snoozing it like usual and was now running 20 minutes late. He squeezed himself into a spot, trying to make himself as small as possible to not intrude on other people's space. Five years of living in Tokyo and he still wasn’t completely used to the sheer amount of people that surrounded him almost constantly. His mind is a hazy swirl, still trying to shake himself awake from the deep sleep he had just recently occupied.
The real tragedy was that he had to skip breakfast to make sure he wasn’t even more late. Sawamura doubted he would get in trouble at work, he had been there for a couple years and he was known as being a punctual person but he hated the rushed feeling, the consistent swirl of emotions of forgetting something along with his empty stomach that was making its displeasure known on an overly crowded bus.
I hope no one can hear that . Sawamura cringed as his stomach made more disgruntled noises. You can wait 10 minutes until we get to the office. He had snacks in his drawers as any self respecting office worker did or at least the ones who got notoriously grumpy when they were hungry. He felt a wave of amusement and absent mindedly rubbed at his eye in slight confusion.
I have a breakfast bar. Did he? He didn’t remember grabbing anything in his mad dash out of his apartment, he wasn’t even sure he had taken all his necessary files but maybe there was a breakfast bar hidden within the confines of his backpack. Sawamura wouldn’t be surprised. Look-
The bus stopped, calling out Sawamura’s stop and he was thankful for his spot near the door as he squeezed his way out. He wouldn’t run to work, it wouldn’t be good to show up late and sweaty, but he would walk as fast as his legs allowed him too. Especially if there was the promise of a snack on the other end that could tide him over until lunch.
Is food all you ever think about? There was an exasperated fondness to that tone, a tone that Sawamura realized was distinctly not his own. The pitch slightly higher, more nasally with the hints of an outer city accent that Sawamura was vaguely aware of.
Sawamura turned quickly towards the bus, heart pounding as it began to pull away. Too many people were on it, he couldn’t make out discernable shapes of anyone in particular that might have been also looking for him. The last thing he heard before his mind went silent was a muttered curse.
Sawamura’s foot rose, moving in the direction that the bus headed and it’s next stop without much input from the rest of him. He could run after the bus, hopefully make it to the next stop and be able to hear his soulmate again, tell them to get off the bus and apologize for mistaking them for his own train of thought because he was too distracted by being late and the the promise of a snack at work. It would be the type of big romantic gesture he had always seen in movies, it would make the greatest story to tell their friends and family.
Someone knocked into Sawamura’s shoulder, not enough to hurt or unbalance him but enough to stop him from doing something impulsive. Grand gestures were great but they didn’t pay the bills and it wasn’t an acceptable excuse for being late to work either. If he hurried he would only be about 10 minutes late, but if he ran after the bus it would be closer to half an hour or forty-five minutes.
As Sawamura turned in the opposite direction of the bus, quickening up his speed to make up for the time he lost being indecisive, he quietly accepted the fact that he might have ruined his chance to meet his soulmate. Over 9 million people lived in Tokyo, and that didn’t include visitors or tourists. While the business district Sawamura worked in wasn’t usually a hotspot for tourism there was still some good restaurants around. Sawamura couldn’t even console himself with the thought of getting on the same bus the next day in hopes that his soulmate would be riding it again because that would make him late for work again .
Sawamura let himself wallow in self pity for a moment before taking those emotions and packing them in a tight box inside of himself as he walked into his works building. He had a lot to do and he could bring those emotions back out during the weekend when he lamented to his friends about it over drinks, but now he had to make up for the fact that he was late.
Luckily Sawamura’s track record spoke for itself and there was only a mild warning from his boss to not let it happen again before he was sent on his way to oversee his team. There was some good natured ribbing from said team before they all settled down for the morning to start on their daily tasks. Besides the blip in the morning, Sawamura could almost convince himself that it was any normal day. The promise of Sawamura buying them all lunch even had his team's spirit up, though it was mostly selfish on Sawamura’s part.
“I’ll meet you there, I just have to finish this off.” Sawamura promised Yaku as the other man stood in his doorway. Yaku nodded, turning to tell the others to shut it from their happy chanting of “Meat, Meat, Meat” as they shuffled out of the office together. Sawamura smiled, shaking his head slightly as he finished his current edits and turned them in before pushing away from his desk. He stretched, his back popping as he raised his hands above his head, testing the limit of his shirt as it tried to accommodate the sudden movement.
Sawamura silently mourned the contents of his wallet as he grabbed it, along with his keycard, and walked out of his office to meet up with the rest of the team. The place they were meeting at was only about four buildings down. Convenient and with a menu that appeased even the most picky eaters, which Sawamura was not a part of. The thought of an actual meal that Sawamura’s spirit lifting a little, even as he couldn’t stop his mind from going back to his soulmates few shared thoughts. They had caught on quicker than Sawamura, which was embarrassing enough to start with but added to the fact that Sawamura had been too distracted by the thought of food to notice-
They had even offered him a breakfast bar and he had-
Sawamura groaned internally, forcing himself not to show any of it on his face as he walked out of the building and into the bright sunshine. His friends were never going to let him live this down. Hell, his own brain was never going to let him live it down.
Instinctively Sawamura looked both ways before walking into the flow of traffic, not wanting to walk directly into someone. He wasn’t particularly tall but he was sturdy and he had accidentally knocked a few people over just by standing before. He saw Yaku off to the side, talking to a lanky looking man who was resting against a cement alcove that many of the office workers in the surrounding buildings ate on when the weather permitted it.
My feet hurt . Sawamura frowned as he looked down at his feet. They didn’t hurt, he had been mostly sitting all day- His head snapped up, and he forced himself not to look around frantically least he miss something because that thought hadn’t been his. It had been- To your right, with the angry kitten in front of me. Sawamura looked to his left, met the eyes of that lanky man and almost snorted.
I’m telling Yaku you called him an angry kitten. This time Sawamura let his feet walk without reality slamming him back to do the responsible thing. He was hungry but he could wait a little longer.
Seriously, food again? Sawamura was glad for the sun beaming down on them as he felt the back of his neck warm and the blush spread to his face. Did he really think about food that often? It was lunch time after all, it couldn’t be that uncommon.
“I’ll buy you lunch.” It was a surprise to hear that voice outside of his head, as if he had already gotten used to the nasally timber. It fit the body it belonged too, though Sawamura hadn’t allowed himself to think too much on that during the day. He was all long limbs covered in a nice looking suit that accentuated his broad shoulders and slim waist. The length of his legs were criminal and despite the smirk that curved one side of his mouth higher than the other there was a blush upon his cheeks.
“Oh, Sawamura, really? You could do so much better.” Yaku groaned, face twisted in clear disgust. “Also weren’t you just saying you had to get back to work? That you wasted your entire lunch and even called in a few favors to get it extended so you could spend it-” Yakus words were cut off as the tall man with the truly ridiculous black hair slapped a hand over his mouth. His cheeks were even redder now.
“You really know how to ruin a first meeting.” The man spoke, eyes flashing over Sawamura as if he couldn’t help himself. That suit jacket didn’t do him any favors. Sawamura felt his own face warm at that thought. He had left his jacket on the back of his chair in his office because it had looked warm outside.
“Just exchange numbers already!” Yaku shoved the other man off, scowling at them both as if they were unruly teenagers but there was a twist to his lips that made Sawamura think he was fighting off a smile. “And be quick about it, you still owe the team lunch.” He stormed off, phone coming out a split second later and Sawamura wasn’t sure he wanted to know who Yaku was texting. They had quite a few friends in common, it was likely he was even texting in the group chat right now.
“Hello.” Sawamura turned back to the other man, to his soulmate. Standing up he was quite a bit taller than Sawamura, making it even more embarrassing that Sawamura hadn’t caught him on the bus since he probably stood over most people. But that didn’t matter now because he was right in front of him. “Kuroo Tetsurou, that’s me, I am- Kuroo.” He coughed, glancing away and back at Sawamura as he couldn’t help but laugh.
“Sawamura Daichi,” Sawamura introduced himself, watching as a smile lit up Kuroo’s face. Hello , he tested it in his mind, fascinated at the way the smile on Kuroo’s face grew wider, made him appear so much younger.
Hello Sawamura.