Work Text:
"Hey there! Thank you so much for calling. What would you like to order?"
Chishiya clears his throat, readying himself to speak. But before he can utter a single word, an embarrassingly loud grumble erupts from his stomach. Chishiya freezes.
There's a moment of silence, and Chishiya has the sudden urge to bury himself into the ground.
Before he can say anything, though, there’s a sound resonating from the speakers that Chishiya doesn’t expect.
The employee on the phone has begun to giggle. It’s a pure and delicate sound, filling Chishiya’s ears like white sunlight illuminating a barren room. Suddenly, all his thoughts and worries seem to dissipate, and he can think a little clearer. Like the laugh is an antibiotic that dispels stress.
Soon, the laughter dies down, and Chishiya clears his throat once more, wanting to get this over with. He disregards the redness tingling on his cheeks. “...Sorry about that. I suppose I’m quite hungry.”
“D-don’t worry. It, uh, happens to the best of us,” the other manages. He seems to be panting, perhaps out of breath from all that laughing. But was the noise really all that amusing? Chishiya begs to differ. And anyway, above everything, he’s hungry through and through, and would like to eat as soon as possible.
It’s not every day Chishiya decides to order something over the phone like this. He’s not one for unnecessary conversation. It’s past midnight, and every other option is closed, unavailable.
“So,” the employee coughs, “What are you going to order?”
“A medium cheese pizza. Six chicken tenders, and a medium coke,” Chishiya states. But the mere thought of food is sending his mind into a frenzy, and he can feel another grumble begin to resurface. Yet he pushes away the sensation, not wanting to deal with the shame again. “When is the food going to arrive?” he inquires, his impatience clouding his judgement.
His question does not receive a reply. Instead, there seems to be frantic tapping coming from the other end, followed by an exasperated sigh, and brief silence. “Um… your order isn’t going through for some reason. Maybe, uh, the machine is tired? It’s been a long day, after all. Ha, ha…”
Chishiya blinks. “So, you’re saying…”
“There might be a delay. I’m so sorry,” the employee breathes, and Chishiya can’t help but acknowledge the guilty tone in those words. Even so, he knows his stomach won’t be able to last for much longer.
“It’s fine. I’ll just order elsewhere–”
“No!” the man yells, and Chishiya is startled, to say the least. After all that has happened so far during this call, an outburst is something that Chishiya has least expected. But here this poor employee is, begging him to stay on the line.
“I’m hungry,” Chishiya says, “You heard so yourself, right? So I’ll just find somewhere else to get my food.”
“N-no! You don’t understand!” the employee stammers and stumbles over his words, and despite himself Chishiya finds this quite endearing. But he continues, “We’ve hardly had any orders today! We need all the money we can get. We’re going to go bankrupt at this rate…”
Quite frankly, Chishiya does not care. He’s starving, and that’s that. “Whatever–”
“No. Stop, please hold on. I’ll just tell the chef directly, yeah? Then the issue will be resolved. Just let me, uh… write down your order…”
And with that, the sound of the employee’s smooth, melodious voice is quickly replaced by the noises of feverish scribbling of pen to paper. Sure, Chishiya’s a little annoyed by the inconvenience of waiting, but he admits that such determination is rare nowadays. Especially in such a low paying job as this one. Chishiya himself doesn’t feel all that passionate about working as a doctor – not to this extent, anyway.
Chishiya rests his chin on his hand, propping his elbow onto his desk, as he waits for the employee’s return. A few moments ago, his receding footsteps sounded out, leaving Chishiya feeling oddly empty. But it doesn’t take long for him to return, with short pants leaving his mouth once again.
“Okay. Your food will finish cooking in about fifteen minutes, and they’ll get to you in about thirty. Is that okay? I’ll try and speed things up, and I’ll make sure you don’t have to wait too long, so don’t worry! Please, just stay. Please,” the employee rambles. His efforts to get Chishiya to stay with him are admirable. So admirable, in fact, that he can’t bring himself to decline the offer.
“Sure,” he mumbles, and at the relieved sigh that the employee makes, Chishiya smirks. This guy is kinda cute, he realises.
“Thank you. Thank you so much,” the worker utters, as if Chishiya has just saved him from the brink of death. But he doubts it’s that big of a deal.
“No worries,” he says.
“I’ll see you there, okay?” the employee affirms, but at this, Chishiya perks up. What does he mean…?
“Hm? You mean, you’re delivering the food?” Chishiya doesn’t think he’s ready to meet this guy face to face.
“Well, yeah. We’re low on staff, so I don’t have much of a choice,” the employee trails off towards the end of his sentence, possibly feeling dejected.
“What’s your name?” Chishiya questions abruptly, and judging by the silence following his words, he can tell he must’ve startled the other.
“...It’s Arisu,” he manages after a moment.
“Arisu,” Chishiya whispers. The name feels so natural on his tongue, as if he were destined to say it. Even after it becomes a lingering aftertaste, the name continues to echo in his mind. Chishiya’s heart beats in time with the name as it plays on loop. Arisu. Arisu. Arisu.
“Yeah, that’s me,” the employee – Arisu – chuckles. Chishiya doesn’t think he could ever get bored of that laugh. His heart stutters at the thought of matching that pretty voice to a face.
“I’ll see you then, Arisu.”
After he hangs up, Chishiya rushes down the countless flights of stairs, to wait by the entrance of his apartment building. Peering into the darkness of the road, Chishiya can vividly envision a face emerging from down the street. He can’t imagine what the employee could look like. After all, any face couldn’t possibly match such a beautiful voice as Arisu’s.
But after ten or so minutes, Chishiya thinks he can spot a blurry figure in bright red uniform rushing down the pavement, with boxes in his hands.
Ah. Perhaps he was mistaken.
Even within the darkness of the night, this boy is ethereal. His dark hair looks to have been combed beforehand, but the wind must have tousled it completely. His skin seems a little pale, but his cheeks are rosy and his lips are plump and red – this must be due to the biting cold.
Arisu is angelic. He illuminates the world so much, he almost makes Chishiya forget that it’s night outside. He blinks, and before he knows it, Arisu is slowing to a stop in front of him, catching his breath. Chishiya fights back a smirk, but Arisu still seems confused.
With an intake of breath, the worker licks his lips in nervousness. “Excuse me,” he begins, and at the mere sound of his small voice, Chishiya is finished.
This really is Arisu. His heart lurches. God, he’s so pretty.
“Don’t even have a bike, Arisu?” Chishiya remarks, and he revels in the way Arisu’s eyes widen ever so slightly.
“Wh-! Hey, we can’t afford them yet! But we’re saving up, you know,” he scolds, and Chishiya swears there’s a faint pout on Arisu’s lips. Looking at them up close, he can’t help but feel drawn to them.
Arisu seems to notice Chishiya’s silence, and he furrows his brows. “Are you going to take your food? It might have gone cold by now, so–”
Without giving Arisu a chance to finish his sentence, Chishiya leans in, planting a peck on those soft lips. At last. He didn’t think he could hold himself back anymore. Arisu startles at the contact, though. Chishiya has to place his hands underneath the cardboard boxes, to ensure that they aren’t dropped in shock.
Eventually, Chishiya pulls away to meet bewildered eyes and flushed cheeks. Arisu looks like a deer ensnared in a trap. It’s cute.
After having a taste of those lips, Chishiya thinks his hunger is long gone. He licks his own lips, savouring the sweet aftertaste. He doesn’t miss the way Arisu’s gaze flickers down to meet his tongue as it darts from his mouth, with a gulp.
Then he reaches forward and takes the cup and boxes, replacing them with paper bills in Arisu's hands. And, with a hasty bow, Chishiya says, “Thanks,” before he turns to leave. He suppresses the urge to chortle at the sudden shouts ringing out from behind him.
“Wh- what? Y-you…! Hey! Stop! Wh…” Arisu sputters. “You… huh?”
“I’ll call again, Arisu,” Chishiya shouts, not bothering to face him once more. He knows Arisu is listening, loud and clear. “You better be waiting for me.”
Only after hearing Arisu's confused yell does Chishiya become satisfied. He steps inside once more, letting the warmth hit him at full force. He holds his food close to his body as he clambers up the stairs, and arrives at his apartment.
But it’s when he drops them all on the table when he notices a string of numbers scrawled onto the lid of the pizza box. Chishiya scoffs, amused. He has, admittedly, been one-upped by Arisu.
It appears the pizza delivery service's number isn't the only one he'll be calling soon.
As Chishiya bites into his pizza, he can’t help but feel underwhelmed by its flavour. Nothing could ever match the taste of Arisu’s lips.