Work Text:
The kitchen had gone silent for the moment, as you stared down at the fruits of your hours of work. A grimace tugged at your lips as you carefully prodded one with the tip of your overworked wooden spoon. A bit of softened chocolate got onto the spoon, denting your hard work quite clearly. You let out a soft, tired groan as you laid the spoon down in defeat. While they didn’t look inedible, your attempts at homemade chocolate were nothing to brag about, lacking that picturesque glossy finish and detailed shapes you had seen in the reference photos.
“Uwa~?! You’re still here Producer-?”
A startled yelp made your head snap up and towards the door, where one Shiratori Aira stood, his hand covering his mouth partially in shock. He had clearly not been expecting to see you hovering over your kitchen mess this late at night. He had passed by the staff kitchen several hours ago when you had started this endeavor of yours after all. You mustered up a strained smile for him, hoping the pained frustration in your eyes wasn’t showing.
With an awkward grin of his own, Aira walked over to peer at your progress curiously. He’d be lying if he wasn’t interested at least a little in the project that had his otherwise impeccable producer in such a state.
“Evening Aira-san,” you greeted with a tiny wave of your hand, trying to discreetly shuffle your failures off to the trash without him noticing. Fortunately for you, his attention seemed to be on the ones you had so carefully picked out as your acceptable ones.
His bright eyes blinked down at the counter, his brow furrowing just a bit. He pursed his lips as if pondering on how to tell you how bad they all looked, especially to his Pretty5 trained eyes and tastes. “T-those looks a little…rough Producer.” Aira finally settled on, staring down at the rather sad looking chocolates much in the same way you had been a few moments earlier.
“Yeah, I know,” you sighed, placing a bowl into the sink and filling it with water to let it soak a bit before you scraped the remaining chocolate out. You rubbed the back of your neck sheepishly, “They should taste fine, at least? Niki-san was in here helping me for most of the time, but then…”
“Hiro-kun’s brother dragged him away?” Aira supplied as you trailed off. You nodded, feeling another sigh coming on as you recalled the incident from before.
“Eh~? Niki, what do ya think you’re doing here? We got places to be and I need to use your wallet again! Kyahaha~ save some of that chocolate for me nee-san!”
“I’m not sure if I should be glad he didn’t stick around or mad he kidnapped my helper,” you said, shaking your head at the memory of the two bees. If only Niki was still here, then you’d have delicious and well-plated chocolate! Or no chocolate at all if Niki’s stomach decided it was hungry…a wry smile tugged at your lips, that in itself was a gamble.
“Anyway!” Aira said quite loudly, drawing you out of your ponderings. “I’m sure Tattsun-senpai won’t care if they look kind of funny. It’s the feelings that count, right?”
You stared at him, blinking as a blush began to form on your cheeks. “How did you know I wanted to give these to Tatsumi-san?!”
At the disbelieving look Aira gave you, you wanted to sink into the ground. His eyes were so full of pity. “Producer…you were talking about it last week with Kohakucchi and I, you asked about good sweets shops, remember?”
“Oh. Uh, um, so as you can see there was a small change in plans.”
“Homemade chocolate…you’re pretty serious about this, huh Producer?” Aira asked, leaning down to inspect the chocolates a bit more closely.
You nodded, feeling a bit embarrassed for having forgotten you had slipped up in front of the two younger idols so easily. “You could say that. I don’t want to half-ass it. Even if they taste fine, I’d still like to make them presentable. I keep seeing how pretty other ones are online…”
Aira hummed a bit as he smiled brightly. “Hm~ if they’re too pretty though, I personally wouldn’t want to eat them! I think as long as you put your feelings into them it should be lovely!”
Looking back at your chocolates, you let out another resigned sigh. “Aira-san,” you began, your tone catching him off-guard at how serious you sounded, “Would you eat my feelings if Tatsumi-san rejects them?”
“Eh!?” Aira let out a surprised shriek, his expression twisting into one of appallment. “Producer, don’t say things like that! And not in such a weird way too? Have you been hanging around Mayo-senpai or Sakuma-senpai too much lately?”
A small laugh managed to escape you at Aira’s almost horrified expression. “No, no, I was just being dramatic. Mostly. I’d be lying if I wasn’t a bit nervous, though,” you confessed, beginning to wipe down the counters with a dish towel. “It was a good thing I didn’t try and make more for everyone…this was hard enough.”
“Hehe~ not to worry. I’m sure everyone will be happy with their obligatory chocolate,” Aira said with an airy chuckle. “But! You have to tell me how it goes! Everything!”
“Alright, I will. Just a head’s up that I might be sneaking stress chocolate that day…”
“Producer, you should really take better care of yourself sometimes.”
“I would say the same to you Aira-san, shouldn’t you be heading home? It’s getting rather late,” you said, as you continued to clean up, neatly packing away your salvaged chocolates in a box to be arranged later at home.
“Are you going to be okay cleaning up by yourself?” He asked, a concerned look in his eyes.
You laughed it off, giving him a reassuring wave. “It’s fine, not my first time locking up the office and all. Take care of your way back,” you said, smiling at him just a bit at his uncertain nod.
“Mm, okay, good night Producer,” Aira finally said, casting one last look over his shoulder as he walked out of the kitchen. As his small frame disappeared down the hall, you let out a soft chuckle. You really were lucky to be working with these idols and that was why you wanted to do this much at least for them. Well…as much as you adored everyone you worked with, this late-night project was all for one.
You just hoped that the process of making them was going to be the hardest part.
As with most things related to ES, your hopes and dreams were crushed the moment the actual event hit. You had been running yourself ragged helping the idols and the other staff members with the Valentines Day festivities, barely able to even hand out all of your obligatory chocolate to whoever you happened to cross paths with. And so, the ribbon-wrapped box you had worked so hard on sat at the bottom of your bag, tucked away as you couldn’t even catch a single glimpse of that benevolent smile.
Much to your dismay, the day came to a close and you were back at the offices to put away supplies and costumes. As you shut and locked the door to the closet, you took the time to rest your elbows on it and catch your breath. You hadn’t even realized how tired you were until now, having run off of caffeine and adrenaline the entire day. It was pretty late now and most everyone had gone back to the dorms already, you let out a sigh, perhaps you’d just have to track him down tomorrow…or maybe this was a sign from above that you shouldn’t even try.
“Producer-san?”
Or perhaps the powers that be just had a really sick sense of humor today.
Your head snapped up at the soft, familiar voice. Like an angel with terrible timing, stood the person you had been hoping to see all day.
“Tatsumi-san?!”
He blinked and tilted his head at you, as if a bit perplexed at your rather surprised yelp. “Is everything alright? You seemed a bit out of it,” he said gently, walking a bit closer to you with his normal, reassuring air about him.
You had been playing this scene over in your head for the past week, but nothing seemed to be able to prepare you for this would-be serendipitous meeting. You froze up awkwardly after you hastily pulled yourself up from leaning on the door, your heart starting to beat just a bit faster. While you were usually able to play it off, keeping your professional composure, that was when you had other people to distract you. Now that the two of you were seemingly alone in the office, it was hard to focus on acting ‘normal’.
It was even harder with that soft, sweet expression of his directed at only you. To anyone else, he looked the same as he always did, to you-? Well, you wanted to treasure that sight, no matter how mundane it might be to another.
“Oh, aha, yeah I was just taking a breather from today. Shouldn’t you be resting up-?” You asked, a tired smile on your face.
“Actually I was here for you,” Tatsumi said simply, as if it were something to be expected. It was not.
“Me-? Did you need something?”
Tatsumi let out a soft chuckle at the sight of your puzzled expression. “It’s nothing you need to worry about doing. Aira-san just told me I should come find you after work finished.”
Internally, you screamed. Aira had done you a solid today. You made a mental note to profusely thank him later if this went well. And if you could get through this interaction with your senses still intact. This was your golden opportunity after all. Now you just had to-wait. Oh. Your expression dropped, your bag was sitting on one of the desks, which meant you couldn’t just pull out the box and go.
“Oh! Aha yeah…I was trying to hand out chocolate to everyone today but it was a bit hard to catch them all,” you said, trying to make it sound as natural as possible, “I figured I would give it to them tomorrow if I didn’t see them today. But um, since you’re here…”
You trailed off awkwardly as you walked over to your bag, trying to ignore his curious gaze. You carefully dug the meticulously wrapped box out of your bag, careful to not ruin the ribbon you had painstakingly tied in a fancy bow. Admittedly you might have gone a bit overboard on the packaging but you told yourself it was to make up for how lacking the chocolate inside looked. You took a deep breath to calm your nerves, everything would go just fine. He would never be anything but politely gracious right? And maybe he wouldn’t even notice they were different from the ones the other idols received…
As you turned back to him, you saw the way his eyes landed on the box in your hands, evidently putting the pieces together as he tilted his head slightly at you. Pressing your lips into a tight smile, you held the box out to him with both hands. “Uh, this is for you! Thank you for everything Tatsumi-san, I really appreciate how patient and understanding you are with how hectic work can be.” You had to stop yourself from rambling, there was plenty more you could have said but-
Tatsumi reached out to take the box from you with careful, deliberate hands. If you didn’t know any better, he was handling it like it was made of glass. He smiled at you, his expression one of pleasant graciousness. “You really shouldn’t have Producer-san,” he said with a chuckle, “But I couldn’t simply refuse something you worked so hard on.”
“What-”
Your heart skipped a beat. How did he know-?! You had thought you had done a pretty good job at wrapping the box to make it not look so obviously homemade and he hadn’t even opened it yet-
Noticing your confusion, Tatsumi spoke again, an amused lilt to his voice. “I have to commend your crafting skills. Fufu~ I did see some of the other idols with other boxes from you today. This isn’t the same as the ones they had. Oh, I hope I’m not assuming anything,” he quickly said, glancing back at you, his brows slightly bunched in concern.
You quickly shook your head, “No-! You aren’t um, it is…different,” you admitted. “I just felt that something store-bought wouldn’t really send the right message-”
Oh dear lord above what were you saying now? Send the right message? Could you get any more awkwardly obvious?! You mentally slapped yourself for blurting it out like that, but the deed was done. Fortunately or not, Tatsumi seemed unaffected by your hasty reply. His expression didn’t betray any overt surprise or worry, which was a relief. Rather, he seemed almost…pleased?
There was a twinkle to his violet eyes that you didn’t find familiar. His fingers gently stroked over the ribbon, a contemplative smile playing on his lips. “Please don’t worry yourself over it,” he said, “I truly do appreciate the gesture. Haha~ I’m not quite used to receiving such personal gifts.”
Perhaps to spare your clearly awkward self, Tatsumi didn’t question anything. He didn’t ask that fateful “Why?” you had so feared. You coughed into your fist in an effort to calm your nerves. “Anyway, that’s all…I don’t want to keep you.”
“It’s never a bother, Producer-san,” he said simply, taking a step closer to you whilst carefully untying the fancy bow of the box, “Besides, I haven’t yet even properly thanked you.” While your heart nearly gave out on the spot, Tatsumi opened the lid and was then greeted by the sight of your rather messy truffles. Not a single flicker of disappointment was to be found in his expression, quite the contrary as a fond smile tugged at the edges of his mouth.
Unphased by the sad appearances of the chocolate, he didn’t waste a moment before popping one in his mouth. You held your breath in anticipation, biting your lip just a bit. Much to your relief, he didn’t spit it out or pull any grimaces. “These are quite delicious, Producer-san~,” he hummed, using his thumb to brush away a small bit of chocolate from the corner of his mouth. You had to refrain from hiding your face in your hands at the casually sensual way he had done so.
“Oh-? I’m glad you like them!” You managed to say, feeling the pressure of his judgment lift from your shoulders. “I know they don’t look all that appetizing, but I was hoping they wouldn’t be too bad in the taste department…”
Tatsumi shook his head, “Don’t underestimate yourself, Producer-san. Thank you so much for your kind gift.” Another bright, encouraging smile directed right at you. “You really didn’t have to go out of your way for me, though,” he said, a light rosy tint to his cheeks as he gave you a rather sheepish look.
“I…wanted to. It’s just a small thing, really,” you said, trying to play it off as casually as you could. “As both a fan and your producer, I wanted to try and give back a little bit of what you give to so many people.” And myself, are your unspoken words, veiled only by the slightest crack of your voice. As you said this, your eyes averted to the ground, unable to look him in the eye, too nervous to bring yourself to see his reaction.
There’s a pause between the two of you, even the air seeming to still entirely around you. All you could hear and feel in that moment is your own heartbeat. Then without even the smallest of warnings, you felt something gently brush against your cheek.
With a touch as light as the most delicate flower petal, Tatsumi tenderly tipped your chin up with his index finger so that the two of you could lock eyes. You were frozen in place as he did so, watching with rapt attention as a sweet smile crossed his features.
“Raise your head Producer-san. Such kind hearted intentions should be met with an equal love, should they not?” He laughed lightly, “I only hope I can continue to return this sentiment to you, so please do not look away from me~.”
And he still had yet to draw away from you. Forget the chocolates, you were going to become a puddle of melted producer if he kept this up-! In spite of your stunned state, Tatsumi didn’t seem to be deterred in the slightest, continuing to smile as he held your gaze.
“I just want you to know that I love you just as much.”
Okay either he was oblivious as all hell or he knew exactly what he was doing. There was no way it could be anything else. He had a really bad habit of using the word ‘love’ didn’t he-? You were at a bit of a loss. What did you even say to that? He meant as a friend right? Or just as another human being?
You truly could never tell when it came to Kazehaya Tatsumi. And yet that was just part of adoring someone who could make your heart ache and heal all at once. Or something like that. Perhaps you were the one overthinking things. But when he said things so earnestly and treated you so kindly…
Well no one could blame you for letting your hopes stay up just a little.