Work Text:
Keiji didn’t know what’s happening to him.
Keiji was better than this.
Keiji knows he is better than this.
He wasn’t someone who had to forcefully push down the top lid of an overflowing garbage bin. He wasn’t someone who had to quickly fill the sink with water so that the pile of unwashed dishes wouldn’t dry up with leftover food. And most especially, he wasn’t someone who would actually contemplate stopping in the middle of the road to let a bus spare him from the never-ending cycle of the 9 to 5 corporate life.
And yet, maybe that’s just how it is–a life of on overtime every day of the week, long hour cadences with different departments, and last minute alignment meetings with overly demanding clients.
Keiji could only sigh as he tried to inhale as much of the scent of steamed hot coffee and crushed java beans when he stepped into the cool air conditioned overpriced coffee shop.
It was brief moments like these where Keiji felt a small feeling of belongingness of being a part of the overrated capitalist society. At least that’s what he thought to himself bitterly as he scanned through the long line of other morning risers; those coming in after their workout, sleep deprived students cramming last minute readings for their morning class, or corporate slaves, just like Keiji, waiting for their turn to order the hot cup of Joe, that would get them through the work day.
He quickly took his place behind a man in a suit, who was towering over most of the people in the line. Keiji couldn’t help his eyes wander from the top of the man’s head, down to the clean cut suit of the figure in front of him.
Self-consciousness suddenly took over Keiji as he tried to straighten the sleeves of his own white button-up and smoothen out the creases on his slacks. He gave his look one more overview with the reflection from the glass display case of cafe sandwiches and pasta, but was caught off guard with the glimpse of a very familiar and very important face.
Standing in front of him was Tetsuro Kuroo, one of the most efficient, persuasive, and charming employees that Keiji has ever had the pleasure of meeting.
Tetsuro has a way with words that just hooks the attention of clients. That is, if he hadn’t already managed to capture their attention with his impressive aura when he walks into a room.
And it wasn’t just the boardroom and clients that admire him. Practically everyone in Keiji’s company has spoken very highly of Tetsuro. Long time employees have gushed about how Tetsuro had always remembered their birthdays or work-anniversary. The janitors and security guards would always give an extra happy ‘good morning’ to Tetsuro, who also kept his own workspace clean during lunch hours or long nights at the office. Even the newest employees and young interns would chatter during lunch about how welcoming and approachable Tetsuro seemed to be.
As one of the new hires himself, Keiji would also agree that Tetsuro Kuroo was one of the best people he ever had the pleasure of working with–and the best, and most terrifying part for Keiji is that Tetsuro is also the current CEO of Connect Industries, the same company where Keiji works at.
Despite knowing how friendly the CEO really is, Keiji has only personally met the CEO only twice during his time working with him.
First time was during the second interview of his recruitment process, while the second was on his first day during the first meeting with the whole team. Kuroo welcomed him to the company and asked him to introduce himself to the team. Which would have been fine for Keiji if it wasn’t for Kuroo opening the floor for a surprise ‘Q&A with the newbie’ he called it.
Since then, Keiji would only encounter the CEO a few times during their weekly meetings and even then, he wouldn’t exactly say he was already besties with the CEO. They were worlds apart because of their rank.
Him, one of the barely-getting-by cogs in a machine of the company, while the other, a highly respectable and seasoned CEO that’s in charge of the machine .
Keiji couldn’t believe that he didn’t recognize his boss from behind. He should have known that only Tetsuro could pull off carrying a large backpack on his back, with not a single crease or crinkle on his three-piece bespoke suit.
Rarely was there an opportunity like this to strike up a conversation with your boss. Any other employee would probably take this chance to sweet talk their CEO into a raise or promotion. Maybe, even pitch a new project where they could take the lead on and bring in new sales to the company.
But this day was not that day for Keiji.
He already had enough on his plate for the day and pulling up a half-assed project pitch to the CEO is not on his to-do list. So Keiji chooses to a safer path and make sure he didn’t at least ignore his boss before the work day even started. It was the polite thing to do after all.
After waiting for his boss to finish his coffee order, Keiji put on his work-voice and gave thanks to his past self who remembered to brush his teeth before giving a chipper “Good morning, sir!”
“Oh! Hello.” Tetsuro seemed to immediately recognize the internally panicking employee who tapped his shoulder. “Keiji!”
“Yes, sir.” Keiji nodded.
“Ah, please,” the CEO cringed at the use of a formal title. “We’re outside of the office, Keiji. Tetsuro’s fine.”
‘First name basis with the CEO? Does he WANT to give me a heart attack?’ Keiji thought as he muttered his usual order to the barista behind the counter.
He side-stepped away from the counter to the CEO’s side, pretending to focus on his empty cup as panicked thoughts of the growing tension creeped up in the atmosphere.
‘Say something! What do you even talk about with your boss? What do you WANT to talk about with you boss–outside of the office! This wasn’t in the HR manual.
Before Keiji could subtly take out his phone to look up ‘Conversations to make with your boss outside of work’, Tetsuro’s name was called by the barista over the counter.
Thinking this was Keiji’s way out of an awkward encounter before 8AM, he was caught off guard when Tetsuro picked up his cup, grabbed around 4 sticks of creamer from the small self-service station and took his place beside Keiji once again with a beaming smile directed at him.
Keiji raised his eyebrows in surprise and stammered out a reply, “Ah, you don’t need to wait for me, sir.”
Tetsuro frowned at the honorific.
“We’re going the same way anyway, so it’d be nice to start my day with a friendly face.” Warmth spread to Keiji’s cheeks. Their CEO was too charming with his words.
Stirring the hot coffee in his hand, Tetsuro saved Keiji’s internal battle with his thoughts by initiating the dreadful small talk. “It’s a little bit early to be going to the office, don’t you think?” Tetsuro asked.
“I just wanted to go over the presentation materials again before we have the meeting later today.” Keiji replied.
“Again? Didn’t you take overtime last night to finish it up?” the CEO questioned.
“Yes, I did.” admitted the employee, taking a step forward to grab his own hot coffee. “But one can never be too careful.”
“Maybe you’re being too careful.” Tetsuro suggested.
“Better to be cautious than reckless.” Keiji shrugged off his boss’ concern, but quickly added, “I’m only cautious ‘cause I’d like to go over every kind of scenario that could happen and be prepared if any one of them happens.”
Tetsuro hummed in amusement. “Well, I’ll definitely be looking forward to your presentation, Keiji.”
“Thank you…Tetsuro.” Keiji smiled and patted himself on the back with his save. He didn’t want the CEO to think that he was ignoring his words of advice completely.
On the contrary, Keiji appreciated that Tetsuro thought that being too cautious was too much. Keiji had to admit it to himself that if he wanted to quickly improve and rise above the ranks in their company, he had to take more risks. And to have a leader that was concerned for their team’s growth and encouraged their individual progresses was definitely a refreshing work culture that was better than Keiji’s past employers.
The pair walked out of the cafe in silence after that, but Keiji could only replay their exchange over and over in his head. It was clear to Tetsuro that the soft smile that rested on Keiji’s face brightened up his morning more than his milky coffee could ever do.
Arriving at the office together with your devilishly handsome boss was something Keiji’s co-workers did not expect.
Granted, Keiji’s team pushed away the urge to pester their co-worker with details as their presentation was later that afternoon, so Keiji sighed in relief as they didn’t question their CEO and their co-workers’ entrance any further.
The work morning quickly flew by with answering emails and alignment meetings. Soon after, lunch break was over and the usually cool and collected Keiji Akaashi could only hold his composure for so long.
He started squirming in his office chair, getting overwhelmed with the pressure of presenting his first big pitch to the main executives.
Keiji thought he could find some clarity back the three and a half walls of his cubicle, but they seemed to close in on him with every second the minute hand on the clock inched closer to 2PM. He threaded his fingers through his dark hair as Keiji resisted the urge to violently pull out his hair in frustration.
A soft knock pulled him out of his silent panic, as Keiji turned his head to see one of his team members, Koshi Sugawara, hand him a bunch of folders.
“Keiji, could you set up the presentation folders in Conference Room B, please?” Koshi asked.
“You double checked them?” his co-worker jumped out of his seat as he started flipping through the contents of one of the folders.
“Yes. And before you ask again, I triple checked them too. Good thing you spotted the missing figures, we were able to include it in the file before Kiyoko printed them before lunch.”
The anxious employee sighed in relief. “That’s great…”
“Hey, you got this!” Koshi gave an encouraging pat on the shoulder. “Don’t worry about it.”
With a smile, Koshi left Keiji to his thoughts, giving him space to calm down.
‘Don’t worry about it,’ ‘Maybe you're too careful,’ Keiji needed to learn how to chill. He knew his anxiety was valid. Anyone would get nervous in his situation.
But the situation did not need a panicked-Keiji Akaashi right now. It needs the prepared, punctual, calm Keiji Akaashi.
“How’s the team going?” Tetsuro asked, as he stepped inside the cooling conference room.
“We’re doing fine.” Keiji curtly replied, turning back to his laptop as he reviewed the presentation slides.
“And you?” Tetsuro asked, taking half a seat on top of the desk in front of Keiji. “Have you eaten lunch?”
Keiji hummed. “I’d rather not see my lunch again after I just ate it, so…no.” The employee typed away on his keyboard, ignoring the betrayed grumble that his stomach just made.
Tetsuro chuckled, “That doesn’t sound good, but also sounds like an HR violation.”
Confused, Keiji finally looked up at the CEO. “We can’t have you not taking your lunch break.” Tetsuro simply replied.
“I-I really can’t eat before a big presentation.” Keiji stammered. “I feel like throwing up.”
“Nah, you’ll be fine.” Tetsuro said, nonchalantly getting up from the table and gesturing to the door adding a side note that lunch was on him.
But Keiji couldn’t think about eating right now. Not as he frowned at another implication that he was being too overly cautious about the presentation. It was starting to get tiring hearing it from everyone around him.
The CEO took his employee’s silence as a hint that the presentation was something that meant more to Keiji. “You’re a good employee, Keiji.” Tetsuro leaned on the side of the table, but his gaze never felt like it once lost its weight of the seriousness of the words. “I dare say, one of our best.”
Keiji refrained from scowling out loud in front of his superior. I’m still fairly new to the office, what’s he saying?
But Tetsuro’s strong words were louder than Keiji’s negativity, “In the few months that you’ve been with us, and this isn’t favoritism or anything–you’re one of the most prepared, efficient, quick-thinking co-workers I’ve ever had the pleasure of working with.”
Keiji could only fight the blush that fought its way to the apples of his cheeks. “You flatter me too much, sir.”
“What did I say about ‘sir’?” Tetsuro chuckled.
“We’re inside the office, sir.” Keiji gave a knowing look.
“But we’re alone, Keiji.” A sly boyish smile grew quickly on the CEO’s face, as playful eyes focused on the figure of his staff member that tried so hard not to duck under the conference room table, away from the tall businessman’s unwavering gaze that held so much meaning, that even Keiji had to admit he’d fall on his knees and believe every other praise that comes out of the CEO’s charming mouth.
Keiji cursed as his own thoughts betrayed him as it wondered to the fact that if he weren’t going through a corporate crisis right now, he would’ve agreed that he wouldn’t mind calling Tetsuro ‘sir’ in another more private scenario.
The ashamed employee broke away his gaze and ducked his head back to the matter of hand—his presentation.
With a cough, the CEO got up and smoothed out his 3-piece suit. “You’ll do fine, okay?” were the last words of encouragement that Keiji heard before taking one last peak at Tetsuro’s retreating figure.
The thought of replying was considered, but his mind quickly turned into panic when he saw in the corner of his eye, Koshi standing right outside the door with a fat grin on his face, having witnessed the intimate exchange he just had with their CEO.
To no one’s surprise, Keiji presents his first pitch to the company executives with ease.
As cool and as composed and as prepared as he set himself up to be, nothing disturbed Keiji’s focus as he went through each slide and each figure that were proposed in his campaign. Not even when Keiji’s unintentional gaze landed on the CEO who seemed to have set his whole attention on him throughout the whole presentation.
A look of pride sat joyously on Tetsurou’s face, however, the smile left quickly when the rest of the executives on the table turned their chairs towards their boss for the initial impression of the presentation.
But Keiji only half listened to what everyone else said after that. Now that a huge weight has been lifted off of his shoulders, all Keiji could think about was getting a good night's sleep…and of course, the fact that his heart beats just a tad bit faster whenever the cheeky CEO directs another praise towards his team or highlights his particular dedication to this campaign.
It was just in the pitching stage and yet, the CEO seemed to have acted as if they had already exceeded their yearly revenue target. But that’s just a boss encouraging his team—pushing them to do even better on the next project.
Tetsuro Kuroo was just like every other businessman that starts a promising company and motivates their employees. Although, maybe he does it a bit too well.
Keiji’s thoughts floated back to a few hours ago, where he and his boss got a little too close for comfort. His chest grew warm as his heart beat rapidly at the memory.
Thoughts rang loud across his head. He hadn’t experienced someone as forward as Tetsuro in a while now, but even then, he couldn’t be sure. Was his boss flirting with him? Did it even count as flirting? Was this allowed at the workplace?
Maybe he was finally crashing from the continuous adrenaline rush he had to endure the whole day, but as he kept searching for answers he did not have, the employee’s head throbbed with how hard he was thinking.
“I said, are you coming?” Someone’s words brought Keiji back to Earth.
“To?”
“Drinks after work!” Taketora Yamamoto said. “It’s Kuroo-san’s treat!”
“Of course he’s coming!” A heavy arm laid itself on top of Keiji’s shoulders as Koshi grinned mischievously. “I don’t think the boss would be too eager to treat us this early in the project stage for no good reason.”
If anyone picked up on Koshi's sneaky little implication, no one said a word. On the inside, Keiji’s memory of his post-lunch break that day became clearer.
Maybe the boss really was flirting with him. If it looked like it from Koshi’s eyes, then it should be counted right?
'But, why me?’ It baffled Keiji to no extent that he just couldn’t understand his current relationship with his boss. Tetsuro may be a very charming and successful businessman in his field, but he can’t help but ponder over what this meant to him. Is he being pursued for another reason? Is Tetsuro just trying to rile up Keiji and lead him on? Is he just one of those CEOs that was bored on the inside and wanted to stir up some drama among the employees?
People like Tetsuro would never go for people like Keiji. Plus, they were on different levels!
Keiji wanted to keep his guard up around the CEO from now on, but his heart was arguing with him otherwise. And Keiji Akaashi was a stubborn man. He knew better than to fall for his employer. He was not like that at all.
“What do you think about our CEO, Keiji?” Another member of their team, Kiyoko Shimizu asked.
Keiji clears his throat, “I think he’s good at his job.”
“Is that all you think about him?” Kiyoko pried.
It’s all I can afford to think about on an empty stomach. Keiji sighed at the reminder that he skipped lunch and was now being pestered with his opinion on the CEO.
“Yeah, what was that thing this morning?”
Keiji flinched at the sudden mention of grand entrance with Tetsuro.
“And you both were alone in the conference room for a long time,” piped up Koshi.
“They were?!”
“Alone?!”
Shutting his eyes tightly in an effort to relieve the pressure of the rising voices overlapping one another as questions kept getting thrown at him. His thoughts quickly calculated every scenario possible of his co-workers’ reactions if he either chose to tell the truth or lie.
But before Keiji could reply, the rustle of a small plastic bag sounded in front of him. He opened his eyes peering inside the bag to see a takeout bento and a can of orange juice.
“You can take your lunch break in my office if you need privacy.”
The employee could only stop and stare in actual confusion at his boss.
“You finished the presentation.” Keiji just blinked at the CEO. “You can eat now, right?”
Keiji slowly nodded in silence.
“Good.” Tetsuro brightly hummed as Keiji took the plastic bag from the CEO’s hands. “Hope to see you later after work, Keiji.”
“Sir?” Keiji squeaked.
“I told you to drop that.” Tetsuro cheekily replied.
Oh that jerk! Keiji had enough with this teasing. He could handle big presentations and an intimidating board of executives, but since this morning he had experienced way too many emotions and every high and low that one can experience in a few hours.
He’s hungry, exhausted, and this confident, handsome CEO has been the source of 99% of his unexpected emotions he did not prepare for that day.
So Keiji could only think of dealing with Tetsuro at his own game.
Keiji scoffed and narrowed his gaze on the CEO.
“Make me.”
...
A fierce blush creeped up on the tip of Keiji’s ears as his suggestive phrase hung in the air. His cheeks grew hot as his skin began to crawl with embarrassment as he realized that they were not alone. His thoughts rang louder than the silence.
‘Why did I say that? Did that count as sexual harrassment? Am I going to get called into HR? Am I going to get FIRED? Is he going to RESPOND BACK?’
The surprise on Tetsuro’s face washed away as quickly as it appeared as a sly grin slipped on in its place.
The CEO gave one last smirk at Keiji and squeezed his shoulder as he left the employees..
“Okay,” Keiji sighed and mumbled to Koshi and the group. “Maybe I do need a drink.”
Whether he only needed a drink or two, it was clear that Keiji Akaashi was more drunk than he would have liked to be.
With his inhibitions and his filter down, Keiji was different when intoxicated; making jokes, letting down his walls, smiling way too widely than anyone has ever seen him smile. Even if he let things slip from his mouth, Keiji had to admit it was a refreshing way to de-stress instead of being cooped up in his small apartment.
In the morning, Keiji will definitely blame it on the two full glasses of beer that were not paid by him but rather by his boss and his team, who were more than happy to help Keiji de-stress from work. They all knew he needed it the most and Keiji was never one to deny help from others— no, that would be rude.
But even with alcohol Keiji did not expect to be seated in the passenger seat of Tetsuro’s car, snuggly secured with the seat belt and a warming seat.
“Bet you do this with all the trainees.” Keiji slurred.
A deep chuckle rang inside the car. “Only the ones I like.”
The employee couldn’t help but laugh at that cheesy line. “Better not let HR hear you say that.”
He may be drunk but Keiji couldn’t fool himself with this one. His boss really was flirting with him.
“I think I like this funnier side of you, Keiji” Tetsuro hummed.
The employee cursed at how easily his heart grew warm at the sound of his name. He could only hope that Tetsuro didn’t notice how shaky his breath was when he sighed. “You’re not so bad too, I guess.”
“You walk with your employees on the way to work. You treat them to drinks after a presentation. You make sure they get home safely. You even made sure Alisa didn’t strain herself wearing her heels a while ago.” Keiji softly smiled, remembering how surprising it was to see the CEO offer to carry his employee to the car and her quickly declining it saying it’d be too embarrassing. So Tetsuro offered to lend her his spare slippers that he kept in his car.
“I’ve never met a CEO who acts so…” Keiji’s voice trails off in the loss for the perfect word to describe his employer.
The car slowed down to a stop as the red glow from the traffic lights masked the faint Asian flush that was now lightening up on Keiji’s cheeks, where the sobering man was left in deep thought.
Tetsuro could only gaze in awe at how beautiful Keiji radiated under the mix of the moonlight and contrasted the darkness of the night. An image he wished to etch into his memory forever, as he fell even deeper into the unbreakable spell of Keiji Akaashi.
“What kind of CEO do you think you are?” The question caught Tetsuro off guard. His heart clenched at the softness of Keiji’s voice. He couldn’t decipher what hidden mysteries lied behind Keiji’s words.
“What do you think?” The CEO whispered, voice low and breathy as it lightly kissed Keiji’s cheeks. Only then did Keiji realized how close the two of them have gotten during their conversation.
“I think…” Keiji’s voice was lost in the distance that continued to close
‘I think I should definitely make sure HR doesn’t hear about this.’
Eyes fluttered shut and warm breaths had started to graze on each others’ lips until a horn started beeping furiously behind them, startling both passengers.
Poor Keiji suddenly lurched his whole body away from the middle and hit the window of the passenger door, while the driver quickly stepped on the gas away from the angry cars behind them.
Keiji groaned and rubbed the growing pain at the back of his head, not thinking through his next words, “I think…you’re a walking HR report waiting to be filed for that ass.”
He visibly flinched at his confession and looked away in embarrassment, but the employee whipped his head back as he heard the joyous laughter of his CEO. Tetsuro kept giggling like they were old friends. He could easily tell that Keiji didn’t mean to be so honest, which honestly made it even funnier which wasn't surprising since Keiji had been making him and his co-workers laugh all evening. “Stop laughing!” Keiji uncharacteristically pouted at the CEO.
“You obviously know what you’re doing when you walk into your office with that stupid 3-piece suit, fancy watch, and styled hair.” Keiji’s employer could only laugh harder.
“How do you even get your hair to look like that?” Keiji asked, wanting to change the subject quickly as Tetsuro calmed down from his laughing fit.
“I don’t think you would believe me if I told you it’s my bed head.”
“You don’t style it?”
“Maybe a little,” Tetsuro admitted. “It definitely looked worse in high school.”
Keiji shook his head and laughed. “I don’t think you could pull off looking ‘ worse in high school’.” Not caring anymore how it implied that he did find his boss attractive. It was too late to feign innocence now anyway.
“Let me help you in.” The CEO coolly offered as he pulled up the handbrake. Keiji declined as kindly and as quickly as he could.
“No, thank you. I’ve got it.”
“You did great work today, Keiji. I was genuinely impressed with your pitch.” Tetsuro smiled. “So were the other board members, one of them even approached me after the meeting and gave…”
As his boss rambled on about the high praises directed toward his performance, sobriety washed over Keiji’s muddled brain in an instant. He was just in a car with his employer– the CEO of the company he works for .
Keiji suddenly remembered just how different their worlds truly were.
“Thank you for the ride, sir.” Keiji said as he politely bowed to his boss.
“ ‘Sir’ ?” Tetsuro was confused. He thought they finally got past the use of honorifics.
“See you on Monday.” Keiji squeaked out before rushing into his apartment building, not caring if he didn’t get to hear the CEO’s own goodbyes.
To say that Keiji had a rough weekend was a bit of an exaggeration. After coming home to a messy apartment with his clothes strewn all over the floor, the overflowing garbage bin and unwashed dishes that were starting to attract files, the tired salaryman could only push away all distracting thoughts of his nightly escapade to focus on the deep cleaning spree that he had to do.
But, of course, it didn’t stop Keiji’s thoughts from thinking about his tall, charming, and handsome boss that knew how to push the right buttons to keep him on his toes. Who knew how to let Keiji shake loose every once in a while and made sure he was taken care of.
It was a nice feeling.
Something he could get used to.
But should he really get used to it?
Keiji couldn’t help but also think about the possible consequences. For one, the office gossip would run wild. Would every future promotion be a conflict of interest and be scrutinized by his co-workers and accuse him of sleeping for the work benefits? What if he and Tetsuro break up eventually and Keiji’s left to find a new job, while the latter sits comfortably in his secured position.
Keiji’s imagination truly went wild that weekend.
‘Maybe you’re being too careful’
His CEO’s words left a deep scar on Keiji. He had to admit, despite always being praised for his near-perfect work ethic, he was seriously tired. Tired of trying to keep up with every deadline, every client, and every idea that ran across his mind.
But when Keiji spent his Friday night with his boss and co-workers, he felt relieved at how relaxed he allowed himself to be. He had to look at the positive side to it all, at how welcoming everyone had been and how it could only be achieved by how fun and cool Tetsuro led the whole company.
Tetsuro Kuroo was a great CEO and a good man.
Keiji’s head and heart were definitely sure about that.
So you can imagine Keiji’s disappointment when he didn’t find the main subject of his weekend daydreams when he stepped into the same coffee shop, with the same overpriced coffee and flowing smell of java beans, but no tall, charming CEO.
The salaryman frowned at the absence of his boss from the line and quickly left without ordering his usual cup of coffee; thinking he could catch up to wherever the CEO was on the way to the office.
Keiji grumbled to himself as he stepped onto the office floor, berating himself on how he wasted his weekend on a man that probably didn’t think about him after that night.
Maybe he didn’t show up cause I abruptly left when he dropped me off? Would he be that petty? Or was the whole Friday night just a game to him and I was just being delusional the whole weekend thinking that he did like me? Stupid, stupid Keiji!
In the midst of his lecture, Keiji almost missed the mildly warm cup of coffee that sat on top of his clean desk, and a bright yellow sticky note that held a short little cheeky message.
Sorry I couldn’t meet you this morning. :( Had an early meeting out of town! Dropped by to leave this. But let me know if you want to get coffee after work instead ;) - ‘Sir’
P.S. next time u see me, pls drop the ‘sir’ :(
Yeah, Keiji was stupid.
Stupid and weak for little cute gestures like this.
After work that day, Keiji eagerly left the office on time for coffee, but not without locking his desk cabinet that held an empty cup of coffee with a bright yellow sticky note inside.