Work Text:
Your fingers rapped on the surface of the table as you looked over at the clock hanging on the wall.
He’s late.
You sighed as you continued to type away on your laptop. Despite being way behind the deadline, your student had pleaded with you to meet you that day for a consultation. He was supposed to meet you on several occasions before but had never really shown up for various excuses you honestly couldn’t believe were true. Had you been another professor, you would have outright failed him for his tardiness. He was actually a bit too old to be in his current year, having failed so many subjects to be behind schedule of his graduation, which was supposed to have happened about one or two years ago. But you were benevolent, and you believed in second chances. So you had agreed for another appointment with your troubled student, although deep inside, you had promised yourself that this would be his last chance at redeeming himself in your class.
Heaving another sigh, you reached for the large ceramic cup sitting beside rolls of blueprints lying on top of the table. The aroma of sweetened chamomile apple tea filled your nose as you blew on the light smoke before bringing the rim to your lips. Relaxing folk indie music played in the background of the quaint and cozy cafe, and not too long, you let your thoughts gradually wander from your stressful student to your colorful, busy life.
Life in your late 20s was burgeoning. Your career as an accomplished female architect was promising, and you had found yourself heading towards a coveted position in a prestigious design firm you were currently employed in. While thriving in your main job, you were also fulfilling your recent dream of teaching young future architects in your alma mater. On top of that, you were finally taking that Master’s degree you had recently considered getting -- both for your personal fulfillment and as a requirement for your tenureship in the university. Life was very promising for you; your career shining bright ahead of you. It was the kind of career that some women would be envious of. And had it been someone else’s life and not your own, you would have been, too. It had been a lifelong dream since you were a teenager, and seeing yourself now at this level of your career was very gratifying. And it wasn’t even the prime of it yet; you still had a long way to go. Still, you couldn’t help but be proud of yourself. After all, you had worked so hard in your early 20s to reach this level of accomplishment. And seeing your career take its course towards the direction you had wanted it to go was motivating you even more to do even better. Your future held great promise. You already had your life mapped out for you.
And yet… you couldn’t help but feel like something in your life was missing.
Not that you felt inadequate. Your family and friends had always been there for you, for the most part. Your colleagues respected you; most of your students admired you and listened to you. You were happy with yourself, despite your moments of insecurity. But there was a lack of an emotional sense of belonging that you felt. And you couldn’t ignore the quiet, gnawing feeling that had been hounding you inside for quite some time now.
After a month of discernment and a few private interventions from your friends, you had figured out what you had been feeling for months. Loneliness . You had realized that it had been going on even before, but never really dwelled on it to acknowledge it. Instead, you had buried yourself deeper into your work. You had made your career your focus; it was very important to you, after all. And while you enjoyed the hard work and the successes that came with it, somehow you couldn’t help but think now if this had been a subconscious way for you to cope with the negative feeling.
And it wasn’t like you had any time to date, either. You had been really busy working on yourself and on your dreams, which was not a bad thing, per se. It had been a few years since your last serious relationship. Even though you had met up with a few men every now and then, nothing really progressed into anything after the first dates. When some people suggested to take things casually, you refused as casual dating had never been your thing, either. For you, it had always been about commitment, about a shared goal of having a future together. About finding that one person who you could depend on when you couldn’t do things on your own anymore. About consistency and security. About wanting to stay and being honest and faithful with each other. About acceptance and unconditional love for each other despite one another’s flaws and the hardships that could come.
You hoped you weren’t asking too much.
Because in your past relationship, and from the stories you had heard from your friends’ own experiences, it was very rare to find someone who shared these same goals with you. All of the guys you had met and dated had only wanted and lacked the same things -- eager to lay down with you and was impatient to wait, uncertain of what they wanted out of a relationship or if they wanted one at all, as well as failing to understand your need to have a sense of fulfillment in your life, especially in your career.
You checked the time on the clock again and sighed out of frustration, both at your tardy student and at the lack of romantic prospects. You couldn’t help but feel a bit lonely right there. The thought of growing old alone frightened you. Having to go home to an empty apartment in the long run was something you were beginning to dread. Certainly, you wouldn’t mind settling down with someone (and maybe with your own children) in the future. You couldn’t deny your worries and the growing desire anymore.
There wasn’t anyone whom you thought fitted the description of the type of man you were looking for. And even if your friends Anko and Kurenai had recommended a lot of guys to you before, none of them worked out with you. If only there was someone who was decent for you, someone who shared the same values you have, who would also be accepting, understanding and supportive of your endeavors. Someone who was also kind and patient, respectful and loving… thoughtful and consistent, who would take care of you and look after you…
A gentle breeze suddenly entered the cozy cafe and rustled the papers on your table. You looked up and saw a man come through the door. His chestnut brown hair was a little bit dishevelled from the wind outside, and he had a laptop bag slung over his shoulder. He didn’t seem to notice you staring as he looked around the coffee shop, and he went over to a table far across from yours.
Instinctively, you found yourself smoothing your hair. Of course, you knew the man; he was a colleague in the university you were teaching at, after all. You had just recently started teaching, but in the months that had passed, you had already known a great deal about the man. Professor Yamato was an architect who also taught History of Architecture at the university. He was very active in the restoration and preservation of the Fire Country’s heritage buildings, particularly in structures made of wood. You were more or less about the same age, with him being only a few years older than you. Silently, you watched him as he opened his laptop and covertly checked his reflection on the screen, quickly combing his hair with his fingers.
Your eyes were still transfixed on him as they followed his form making way to the counter. You thought he was cute. He had slightly big dark eyes that others might find disconcerting, but you thought they looked adorable. He was tall and you thought his body had a nice build. He wasn’t boisterous nor arrogant; in fact, he seemed like a guy most people could easily get along with. He seemed gentle and kind, easy to talk to -- and yet still exuded this non-toxic masculine aura which you found rather sexy. It was interesting how careful he was in his actions and gestures, and you could tell how thoughtful he was as a person with how he cared for his small bonsai plants on his desk in the faculty room. He was an interesting person, and in almost a year that you had been teaching in the university, you had found yourself developing a little crush on him.
With a tray of his order in both hands -- you smelled brewed coffee and saw a delicious-looking sandwich on a plate -- he made his way back to the table. Gingerly, he placed the food on the table and got rid of the tray, after which he settled on the chair and took out a small book. Without really meaning to, your mind had suddenly drifted deeper into your thoughts of him.
He seemed like a good person. Almost everyone in the faculty room had nice things to say about him. The students respected and admired him, and you swore you had heard a few female upperclass students giggle when he passed by them. He had most of the qualities a girl could ask for in a partner, and you thought anyone would be crazy not to choose him, if he had pursued her.
You couldn’t deny it; you thought he could be good for you, too. You wouldn’t mind dating a guy like him. He seemed like a thoughtful and caring man -- responsible, reliable, someone you could depend on. Good-natured and mild-tempered. A man with principles. Kind, gentle and compassionate. Very respectful towards others, especially to women. He seemed like someone who could accept you and love you amidst your flaws. Someone who could respect your needs and wants, and let you be your own woman without feeling inferior as a man. Definitely seemed like someone who could comfort and encourage you when you feel like you couldn’t go on. Someone who could also take care of you. Someone who wouldn’t intentionally hurt you.
Your thoughts were cut short as he suddenly lifted his head and met your gaze. You froze as your eyes locked, but after a second, his eyes brightened as he suddenly recognized you. He gave you a weak smile, raising his hand slightly to acknowledge your presence. You felt your cheeks burn and nodded back with a weak smile, after which you quickly averted your eyes away from him, too embarrassed to have been caught staring at him. Not to mention, by your recent thoughts of him.
You were about to get up and hide in the restroom when suddenly, the bell near the door chimed. A young man in his early to mid 20s entered the cafe. His pale purple hair was slicked back, and he was wearing a black leather jacket laced with fur over an uncomfortably thin white sando. He had a slightly annoyed and bored look on his face, and he looked around the place as if searching for something until his eyes fell on yours. The newcomer nodded to your direction and approached you, dragging the chair across from you backwards and taking a seat.
“You’re late,” you told him. He just merely shrugged and gave an excuse which sounded unconvincing. You just sighed in return and asked him to see his thesis proposal, which he handed out to you.
You held the ring-bound stack of A3 papers in your hands, and you scanned over the drawings he designed. It was a proposal to build a church for an obscure religion you honestly had never heard of, but he insisted that it existed by showing you articles of it. As you looked over the designs, you stopped dead at a page and examined an image carefully. The interior perspective drawing looked very familiar; you knew you had seen it before. You mentally rummaged your mind’s archives for memories of where you might have seen it, when suddenly it had dawned upon you. This was a design for an existing church interior that a colleague in your workplace had personally designed! You were certain of it -- you remembered your friend even showing you the photo as he asked for your opinion. Your eyes narrowed, blinking once in disbelief. Why would it be in this student’s thesis proposal?
The answer was clear. Obviously, the student had stolen the design and was claiming it as his own. It was blatant plagiarism. He must have thought he could get away with it, but unluckily for him, you weren’t planning on letting him off the hook.
“Are you sure you’re the one who made this drawing? Because it looks oddly familiar.”
He blinked a few times, fake shock crossing his face. “What do ya mean?? Of course I made it!”
You huffed at his response, shaking your head slightly in disbelief. If there was anything that annoyed you, it was someone denying a crime when they were already caught red-handed.
“No, you didn’t,” you pressed. “You had taken this somewhere from the internet, didn’t you?”
He froze for a while, until he started to vehemently yet pathetically deny your accusations. He kept spewing excuses hoping that you would buy them, but you just stared at him with an unconvinced expression on your face.
“I know the drawing and I have seen the exact image before,” you confronted him as soon as he had stopped talking. “A colleague at the design firm I’m working in made that. He had consulted me regarding the design, which is why I’m certain that what is in your proposal is the same one in his portfolio. You must have grabbed the image from my friend’s website and included it in your proposal, didn’t you?”
His face turned pale, and he looked dumbfounded. After a while, he laughed awkwardly and brought his arms behind his head as he looked away. “Okay, you caught me. You caught me,” he chuckled. “I wasn’t supposed to use it, but the deliberations are already two weeks away. And I’m running out of time, you know? ”
You let out a huff. “Hidan, everybody was given enough time to finish their proposals. I had also given you several chances to submit your work, but you had never really shown up to any of our prior appointments. And in this time that you do, you have the gall to submit to me a plagiarised work. You didn’t even apply any of the changes I suggested! How could I possibly endorse you given the incomplete and plagiarised work that you wanted to submit to me?”
Hidan let out a sigh, shoulders slumping and arms leaning on the table. He lifted his head to look at you, his face a bit serious. “Tell you what. You let me pass and endorse me for the thesis deliberations, and I can give you anything you want. You name it.”
You blinked multiple times in confusion. “W-what?”
Hidan sighed again, scratching the area beneath his ear impatiently. ““Look, my uncle is part of the university’s Board of Directors. He’s in charge of overseeing the financial matters of the university. If you want a raise, I can persuade him to give you one! Just let me pass this subject, and you can have it!”
Unbelievable . You looked at him, stunned and livid at what he was offering. Was he actually bribing you? Who was this kid? Who did he think he was? Having the gall and the impudence to bribe a professor to overlook his offense? Your heart was beating fast as you tried to calm down your breathing, anger already pushing its way up to the surface.
“A-are… did you just try to bribe me ??” You could feel your voice raising an octave higher in disbelief and anger.
Hidan, not looking a bit affected by your rising temper, shrugged again. He crossed his hands at the back of his neck once more as he leaned back on his seat. “Well, some professors actually didn’t mind. They’re all the same. They act like they don’t want it at first, but really the bastards secretly wanted the money.”
You tried to steady your breathing, using all of your energy to not explode on him. His arrogance greatly irritated you. He was very oblivious to your growing anger, and when his eyes flickered back to you, you could see an unwelcome glint had suddenly formed in them. “Well, if that’s not your thing... I can offer you something else you might want.”
You suddenly felt heavily uncomfortable under his unsettling gaze. His eyes slowly raked over your form from your head to your chest, and you could feel the urge to slap him growing larger every second. “Like I’ve said,” his voice was laced with something that had raised the hair on your arms, “a lot of professors didn’t mind.”
Something in you snapped. Hidan had crossed the line. It was one thing to lie to you, but to disrespect you and harass you… you felt that you just couldn’t let it pass. As you were about to give him a piece of your mind (and possibly give him a good slap in the face), suddenly a voice called out before you.
“Is everything alright?”
You looked up to see that Yamato had approached your table, standing behind Hidan. Hidan turned around to face the newcomer, and he scowled when he saw who it was. “Ahh. Yamato. ‘Sup?”
“That’s Professor Yamato to you.” His face didn’t change, but his tone had a clear indication of authority laced in it. “Will you tell me the status of the report you were supposed to submit to me a week ago?”
Hidan let out another peeved sigh and scratched his head impatiently. “I will, I will! Sheesh. Will you wait? Look, I am kind of busy here. I’ll get back to you once I am done with my business with her.” He huffed again as he jerked his head towards your direction.
“You mean, once you’re done bribing your professor and harassing her?”
Hidan turned in his seat to fully face Yamato, narrowing his eyes at him. “That’s none of your business.”
“Oh, as your professor, clearly it is.” You marveled at how he had managed to keep his voice and expression calm amidst the rude demeanor of the younger man. “It is my responsibility to reprimand any erring student who not only plagiarised a work and kept lying about it, but also bribed and verbally harassed his female professor. All of these which -- I believe -- are very serious offenses that warrant suspension. Or worse, expulsion.”
Hidan’s face darkened, this time glaring at Yamato. “Is that a threat?”
Yamato stared back at him, his calm demeanor not for once cracking under the growing tension between them. “I’m telling you to stop bullying your professors into letting you pass every time, even if you clearly don’t deserve it.”
Hidan’s face suddenly turned red as he glowered at the older man. “Who the hell do you think you are to tell me that?”
Yamato chuckled, crossing his arms against his chest. “It is I who should be asking you that. You have no right to force your professors into doing things against their will just for the sake of your own convenience.”
Hidan scoffed, mimicking Yamato as he crossed his arms against his chest. “Oh yeah? And what are you gonna do about it? Discipline me?”
A tinge of amusement crept into Yamato’s face. “Well, I would have no choice but to report you to the disciplinary committee for acts of plagiarism and bribery. Not to mention gross disrespect, insubordination and verbal harassment against a school official. We have proof of your plagiarism, and I, along with the staff of this cafe, are witnesses to the disrespect that you have shown to your professor.” This time, his voice lowered, and his amused expression suddenly turned into a dark one. “And I will personally make sure that you will be made responsible for your acts, and will be given the disciplinary sanctions you deserve. I can’t let you take this far any longer. You’ve been bullying not only students, but also school officials for far too long. Enough is enough.”
Hidan sneered at his professor’s words, meeting Yamato’s amused look with his own arrogant one. “Oh I would love to see you try. Do you even know who my uncle is? He is a member of the university’s Board of Directors. One word from him and he’ll make sure to cut down anyone’s salary or worse… have you fired from your job. Do you think the committee will actually do something about your report when they learn that it involves the Finance Director’s nephew?”
“I don’t care if you’re the director’s nephew, or even if you’re the mayor’s son,” Yamato replied. “You don’t deserve to be passed by your professors with the kind of behavior and ethics that you are showing. To be honest, with your attitude and the grades that you have, you should have been kicked out of this school a long time ago.”
Yamato had been successful in striking a chord with the rude student. Hidan’s eyes widened in anger as he balled his fists. The tension continued to grow as they both stared down at each other, with Hidan glaring at the older man, who in turn unbelievably remained calm. The atmosphere was starting to become a little bit unbearable as you held your breath, eyes nervously darting between the two.
After what seemed like eternity, Hidan finally calmed down a bit. He huffed as he rose from his seat. “I would be careful with my words, if I were you.” He walked past Yamato while intentionally bumping his shoulder harshly against the older man’s.
As soon as he was out of the coffee shop, Yamato let out an exhale which he seemed to have been holding in for so long. He turned around to look at you, his expression suddenly changing into an apologetic one as he smiled at you with his eyes closed. “Ahh,” he scratched the back of his head, “are you okay?”
You were too shocked at what had happened, and when you finally found your voice, you stammered in reply. “B-but… what about the student…?
Opening his eyes, Yamato looked at you. “Ohh, Hidan?” He chuckled, his expression too relaxed to lessen your worries. “I wouldn’t worry about him, if I were you. He’s had a lot of encounters with professors before, and none of them ever got sacked.”
“But - ! He said he’s uncle…”
“Oh, Director Kakuzu?” Yamato shrugged. “Well, I heard the old man hates his nephew’s guts. Heard that Hidan badgered him a lot of times to get a few professors sacked but as I’ve said before, nobody ever was. I, uhhh…” He gave another apologetic smile and touched the back of his neck, “I didn’t mean to intrude a while ago, but when I saw that he was already harassing you, I couldn’t just sit back and watch…”
You stared at Yamato, a bit surprised at his admission. Did he really? Oftentimes, people wouldn’t even think twice about helping you in similar situations like this. And yet this man… who probably only shared a short greeting and nod with you in the hallways, who most probably didn’t know you that much… went out of his way to make sure you were okay. You felt your heart swell, touched at the concern he had shown you.
“Thank you…” you murmured. “To be honest,” you then laughed awkwardly, “if you hadn’t stepped in, I don’t know what I would have done to him.”
“Ahh yeah, that would have complicated things more.” He scratched the back of his neck again, laughing stiffly. “Wouldn’t want to give him any more reasons to complain against you.”
“I’m very grateful, sensei,” you whispered, smiling at him sincerely. “How can I repay you?”
Yamato suddenly raised his hands in front of him, shaking his head. “No need to! I just felt I had to help. It was just the right thing to do.”
But you wanted to show him how much you appreciated his kindness, thinking it was also a right thing to do after the trouble he went through for you. “No, please,” you insisted, “I want to. Maybe a cup of coffee or tea?”
Your colleague politely refused, but you tried to persuade him, anyway. After seeing the sincere look in your eyes and sensing that you wouldn’t stop offering, Yamato finally relented. Heaving a sigh, he looked up and smiled at you. “Alright, if you insist.”
He looked at you with tenderness, when suddenly the corner of his lips curved up into a faint smirk. “But on one condition.”
Confused, you followed his movements as he turned around slightly, jerking a thumb towards the direction of his table. “Only if you agree to sit and hang out with me as I drink the free coffee. I definitely wouldn’t mind some great company.”
It took a fraction of a second to register his words, when it suddenly dawned upon you. Did he… did he just ask me to sit with him? You couldn’t believe what he was asking you. Yet, you also couldn’t deny that you wanted to. You would be lying to yourself if you told yourself you did not and refused him.
Yamato continued to hold your stare, his eyes softened as he smiled at you. “So… what do you say?”
You gave him your sweetest smile, and upon hearing your answer to his request, he couldn’t help but smile wider. “I would love to.” Yamato let out a light, sweet chuckle as he touched the back of his neck. He helped you gather your belongings, and you both made your way to his table, talking and laughing together.
You wondered to yourself if this was heaven’s answer to your predicament. If it was, it would have been absurd and interesting that a distressing incident would lead you to something that held promise. But you dismissed the thought, deciding to just enjoy the present moment with your new-found friend.
After all, you had plenty of time to see where the universe would lead you. And you couldn’t help but feel hopeful.