Chapter Text
It’s another typical day at Spirits and Such Consultation Office. You’ve been working here for quite some time now as a secretary, helping out with graphic exorcisms and odd jobs around the office.
Most days it was just you and Reigen in the office - Mob did show up pretty often, but that wasn’t until after school was over anyways, and the office had already been open for a few hours at that point. You felt it was safe to say you and Reigen were pretty close by now. Sure, sometimes he could be cocky and insufferable, and he spent so much of his time lying to people that you weren’t always sure you could trust the things he said. But he was nice to you, and he made you laugh, and he quit smoking in the office after you mentioned the smell was sticking to your clothes and coming home with you.
And after all this time growing closer… Maybe you had feelings for him. Maybe. I mean, you couldn’t deny the man was handsome, and as much as you swore you hated his cockiness, there was something you loved about it, too. And maybe he isn’t actually that insufferable, but you just can’t handle your own feelings. It was something you tried not to think too hard about. He was your boss , after all. But he was also one of your closest friends.
You started a filing system since working there, to keep track of clients you had worked with and the services you had provided for them, which is what you were currently working on. Last you checked, Reigen was absentmindedly looking out the window.
“Oh - shit!” He leapt from his chair, running to lock the office door, which was right beside your desk so that you could greet clients. He turned his back against the door and was looking down, his eyes darting across the floor.
You stood up. “What’s wrong, Reigen?”
His eyes fixed on you, and in the same instant he was standing straight, totally calm, straightening out his suit and acting as if his moment of anxiety had never happened. “Y/n, some regulars I know from the local bar are about to walk in, and I need a big favour from you. I’m not going to tell you what it is though - you have to agree to it first. And I, hmm, I’ll owe you one. I’ll treat you to takoyaki, or something.”
You furrowed your brows, mulling it over. He wouldn’t tell you what it is? And it was involving regulars at a bar?
You could hear voices growing closer from outside. Reigen placed his hands on your desk, leaning closer to you. “Y/n, please, are you in or not?”
You sigh, turning your head away to hopefully hide your flushed cheeks. Sometimes Reigen stood so close to you, and you were sure he had caught on by this point that you would agree to pretty much anything he said once he broke the personal space barrier. Whatever it would take to get him to move away and spare you the embarrassment of him noticing the way it affected you. Besides, if all it was worth was some takoyaki, it couldn’t be that bad, right?
“ Fine , what do I have to do?”
The door knob jiggled, and then there was a knock. He beamed. “Just play along.”
You started to protest, but he was already unlocking the door.
“Oh, what a surprise! Come on in!”
You put your customer service face on, having no idea what was about to happen. In walked about five people, and you were immediately mentally chastising yourself for your judgement - just because you were about to meet bar regulars didn’t mean you were about to meet a bunch of weirdos. Of course they all looked normal!
You smiled as they all turned to face you after walking in.
“Oh, it’s nice to meet you, dear!” One of them, an older woman, exclaimed. “Reigen was right, you are the pretty face behind the company! So you must be–”
“That’s right!” Reigen interrupted her, standing beside you and wrapping his arm around your waist, pulling you into his side. “The secretary of Spirits and Such Consultation Office, and,” he looked at you and smiled, “my loving girlfriend.”
You kept the smile plastered to your face, gritting your teeth together to stop any other part of your face from showing your shock, embarrassment, and, god, just about every other feeling in the world that you were experiencing all at once.
“Hah, uh, yeah! That’s right!” You brought your hand to your face in an attempt to cover it up. “It’s nice to meet you all, I had no idea you all were coming!” You put extra emphasis on your words, which you were sure Reigen would pick up on.
“We were in the area so we figured we’d stop by, since we know Reigen works here but have never actually seen the place!” Said another, a man this time.
You resumed your regular customer service act. These are just regular customers , you kept telling yourself.
“Will you be staying long? Shall I make tea?”
“Actually,” the older woman spoke up, “we have somewhere to be, but how about you and Reigen come out to the bar tonight! That way we can get to know you better! And it’s a Friday, after all!”
“Yeah! For sure! That’d be great! Uhm, we’ll see you then, thanks for stopping by!”
They all filed back out, and you and Reigen stood there, unmoving, until the door clicked shut.
All at once, he was jumping away from you as you turned to shove him. You started talking over each other.
“Reigen, why didn’t you -”
“Why didn’t I ?! You’re the one who agreed to -”
“Well what was I supposed to -”
“I’m just saying, don’t blame me -”
You went back and forth for a minute before dying down at the same time. You were staring at him with your arms crossed, and he looked to the side, shoving his hands in his pockets. Judging by the look on his face, you knew where this was going. “If you wanted to go out to the bar with me, you could have just asked , you didn’t need to wait for an opportunity to jump on.”
You narrowed your eyes. “I’m not the one going around telling people that my coworker is the pretty face behind my company, y’know.”
“Look at us, already bickering like an old married couple!” He deflected your comment. He sighed before continuing. “We don’t actually have to go out tonight if you don’t want. I can come up with some kind of excuse. Or tell them I broke up with you.”
“Hah!” You sat back down in your chair, looking at the time. It was almost the end of the day already. “No it’s - it’s fine. It’s a Friday night and I have no plans. I think being your fake girlfriend for the night is somehow less sad than doing nothing.”
“Yeah, yeah, I get it. Alright, let’s figure out the details.”
You and Reigen decided you’d head to the bar around 10pm, so you’d have ample time at home to get ready. You asked if there was anything specific you should wear, or anything else you should know, but he just kind of shrugged.
That was about all you ended up focusing on until the end of the day, when you departed to mentally prepare for the night.
———————————
It was about 9:50 now. You ate dinner, showered, did your hair and makeup, and finally decided on an outfit to wear. Between all of those things, they basically took up your whole night. And now here you were, sitting on your living room couch, waiting for a knock at your door. You had drunk a little bit by this point too, to loosen up and also hopefully save some money by buying less at the bar.
There was no way to prepare for what was going to happen tonight. But maybe it would be way less intense than whatever you were thinking - actually, you reminded yourself, it almost definitely won’t be as bad as your thoughts. You’re just overthinking, you’re going to get there and everything is going to be fine. It will be a fun night hanging out with people, and even if you do maybe, kind of, definitely have feelings for Reigen, there is nothing to stress about.
You hear a knock at the door.
You stand up immediately, and while you’re definitely not quite drunk yet, the sudden movement makes you become more aware of what’s already in your system.
You open the door and quickly say hi while looking away to tug your shoes on. Your nerves are somehow more heightened right now than they were before, now that Reigen is here at the other end of your door.
“Uh, hey, y/n.”
Once you finish pulling on your other shoe, you stand straight up again. “Okay! Let’s - Oh! Uhm, are they for -”
“Yes, they’re for you.”
Reigen was holding a bouquet of your favourite flowers. You weren’t sure if you’d mentioned it, or if he just got lucky, but for some reason, watching him extend them towards you calmed you down a bit. Though the red on your cheeks may have suggested otherwise.
You tried to keep your cool. “Thank you, Reigen, they’re gorgeous! Come in while I put them in a vase really quick.”
He stepped inside and shut the door behind him, while you scurried to the kitchen to find a vase to stick them in.
He was standing awkwardly by the door waiting for you, shifting from foot to foot. You had completely changed, while he was still basically in his work clothes. He lost the tie and jacket and had unbuttoned a few buttons on his shirt. But otherwise, this was definitely his usual attire.
“Method acting, huh?” You tried to make conversation.
“Hm? Oh, yeah. I’ve gotta do my part in making it believable, too, since you’re already clearly head over heels for me.”
“Whatever you say, big shot.” You put the flowers down on the counter. “Okay, are we ready to go now?”
“Definitely. Oh, and, uh, you look really nice."
You take a deep breath. "Thank you! ... You too."
You locked your door behind you and began walking to the bar with Reigen. It wasn’t a very far walk, maybe ten minutes, but that was still long enough for you to need to figure out something to talk about on the way.
“So, can I know how this started?” You asked.
“What do you mean?”
“Like, okay, I guess there are a couple of things. One, are you also a regular at this bar? Are these people your friends? And two, why did you need to tell them you have a girlfriend?”
“So many questions, y/n.”
“I’m just curious.”
“Well, I don’t so much anymore, but I used to come to this bar pretty frequently. And the regulars kept staying even after I stopped coming around as often, but they still remember me, and when I do go I’ll chat with them. I don’t know if I’d say we’re friends but, y’know.”
“Okay, I see. And about the girlfriend thing…?”
“Yeah, I’m not talking about that.”
“But what if they ask me about it! Or bring it up! I’m just asking for your sake. There needs to be some continuity in your story.”
“How about just let me handle any questions they have about us, okay?”
You roll your eyes. “Okay, Reigen. Just one more thing. Remind me of everyone’s names.”
You and Reigen kept chatting on the way there, with him giving you a general rundown of each person so you would have a better shot at remembering names. As you were about to turn onto the street the bar was on, Reigen grabbed your hand.
Before you could say anything, he spoke up, waving his free hand around. “Continuity, method acting, et cetera, et cetera, right?”
“Yeah, right.”
God, what am I about to get into? Now that you were on the street, holding Reigen’s hand, only moments away from being inside the bar, the anxiety of the situation became more palpable. There was so much to be nervous about, after all. Did your hand feel… weird? What if the group at the bar didn’t like you? Is it really a good idea to let Reigen take the reigns when it comes to your supposed relationship?
You were quiet as the thoughts ran through your head, and didn’t notice Reigen looking at you.
“Are you ready?” He asked, now that you were right outside the door.
You were snapped out of your thoughts. “Yeah, let’s go.”