Work Text:
Yudai was in a rush. He was late for his anatomy class. Again. He had already pulled this stunt in the same class two weeks in a row, so he really, really didn’t need to do it a third time.
But here he was, flying through campus trying to get to the damned classroom as fast as he could – not a hard thing to do for a runner like himself, not really, but he couldn’t exactly run at full speed right now, not with the cute platform shoes he was wearing and the sheer weight of the anatomy book he was carrying in his backpack, not to mention the irregular pattern of the campus sidewalk. If he wasn’t careful, he could end up tripping at any moment—
Like right now, for example. After saying a string of expletives that could make any sailor blush, Yudai expertly balanced himself and got back on his own two feet in a second, casually brushing his hair away from his forehead like he hadn’t almost dived nose first on concrete a couple of seconds before.
When Yudai crouched down to check the state of his shoes (Nicholas would throw a fit if the gor-geous shoes he got Yudai for his birthday got damaged), he saw an orange glow on the ground. Curiosity killed the cat, as they say. Forgetting all about his predicament, he got closer, trying to find the source of such a weird shine.
It was a fucking Pokémon card.
Charizard, it read. That was a Pokémon even he could recognize. Don’t get him wrong: just like the average kid of his generation, Yudai had been a Pokémon enthusiast at one point. Hell, he had even owned a few trading cards himself back in the day. However, now that he was an adult, all he could remember about Pokémon were a few random facts about Snorlax, that had always been his favorite.
Despite where it had been found, the card was in near pristine condition. It was carefully nested in one of those card sleeves that screamed ‘collector’s item’. Yudai wondered about the identity of this Charizard’s owner. He hadn’t thought about Pokémon in a while if he was honest, so the possibility that there might be Pokémon Trading Card players on his campus came as a surprise to him.
Well, someone might be looking for this bad boy somewhere right now, so he carefully placed it inside his anatomy book for safekeeping. Hopefully, he’ll be able to return it to its rightful owner. For now, he should probably rush if he didn’t want to fail this damned class.
A week later, Yudai was on the way to another anatomy class – surprisingly, he was on time, for once – when he saw a peculiar poster. It looked like the usual lost pet poster, only for a Pokémon TCG card. A card that he had definitely seen before. A week before, to be exact, on this very same spot. The shining Charizard.
Chuckling, Yudai took the poster with him. He would definitely contact this person later.
After getting home, Yudai took his sweet time in the shower and thoroughly followed his beauty routine. It was the best cure for fatigue caused by long days, according to himself. He sat on his bed wearing his shiny baby-pink satin pajamas and a face mask.
Despite having had a busy day, he hadn’t been able to stop thinking about the mystery Pokémon card owner. They were looking for this card, desperately, so it must mean a lot to them. He almost felt bad for not contacting them right away earlier, but at this point, it was too late to dwell on that.
Yudai opened his messaging app and typed the phone number from the poster. The search results were only one: ‘Murata Fuma’. No profile picture. He couldn’t deny he was curious, but he quickly sent a message to the stranger.
Yudai:
hello!
I have your card with me
found it on campus last week
how can I return it to you?
Fuma:
Oh my God, thank you so much! 😭
Are you free tomorrow?
I can treat you to coffee 😊
Only if you like coffee, of course!
Yudai:
sure
I’m a regular at the coffee shop just off campus
we could meet there if that’s okay with you?
Fuma:
OK!
Just let me know when you’re free and I’ll be there!
Yudai was the first to get to the coffee shop. He was wearing a light beige knit vest over a white t-shirt, just like he told Fuma he would. Fuma said he’d be wearing a black Pikachu hoodie, and a quick scan of the few clients in the coffee shop was enough for Yudai to conclude none of them fit that description. He got his regular order (iced americano, naturally) and made his way to his regular table at the back to wait for Fuma.
After sitting down, Yudai felt his phone vibrate with messages almost in a constant rhythm. He needed to kill time anyway, so he braced himself for what had to be Nicholas spamming their group chat.
And Yudai was right: 100+ new messages were waiting for him.
Nicho:
don’t tell me yudai-hyung actually went to meet that freak
EJ:
Be nice, Nicho
He might be normal
Nicho:
sure but he might as well be a freak 😤
Yudai:
I’m here
Nicho:
where’s the freak?
Yudai:
he’s not here yet
EJ:
Nicho!
Nicholas:
what?
EJ:
Be careful, hyung
Yudai:
hey, I’m a big boy, dw
When Yudai looked up, he saw a stunning man in a black Pikachu hoodie smiling at him.
Yudai:
he’s here 🥴
ttyl
Fuma opened up a smile (beautiful, Yudai noted).
“You’re my savior, seriously!” Fuma said, sheepishly.
Despite seeming a bit shy, Fuma had a low voice that contrasted with his cute, round cheeks and adorable smile. Who knew what he was packing under that loose hoodie, though, Yudai thought to himself.
“Fuma, I believe?” Yudai said, gesturing for the man to sit on the chair facing him.
“That would be me,” Fuma replied with a gentle smile.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Yudai,” he paused for a second while rummaging through his bag, “and this little guy here is your lost Charizard, I believe,” he added with a smile.
Fuma’s eyes started to sparkle when he spotted that same orange glow Yudai had seen a week before.
“Oh. My. God. Thank you so much! This card isn’t especially rare but it means a lot to me, so thank you, really.” Fuma started to share the specifics of Pokémon Trading Card Game cards, sounding just like a small child babbling about their favorite toy. “There are cards worth millions, you know? This Charizard is worth maybe two thousand yen – it’s still worth more than common cards, but it isn’t exactly collector’s material. Not unlike what happened to you, I found a Pokémon card on the sidewalk as a child. That’s how I started collecting them. Since then, it’s become a little of a passion of mine – call me childish if you will, I don’t really care.”
Yudai attentively listened to Fuma ramble. It was fascinating, to witness someone talk excitedly about something they loved. At this point, however, Fuma had to pause to take a breath. He had been talking nonstop, after all.
“I’m sorry, I get way too excited when I talk about my interests—I’m sorry for rambling.”
Yudai shook his head to say it was okay, and he had to suppress a smile. Fuma had been so engrossed that he had no idea Yudai had been staring at him the whole time.
“I’m sorry I can’t afford to offer you a reward–” Fuma started.
“We’re all broke college students here,” Yudai quickly interrupted, dismissing his apology with a hand gesture.
“–but I can at least buy you an americano now?” Fuma added, making it sound more like a question. “You seem to like those.”
“Let’s do it like this,” Yudai suggested, “you take me out on a date and we’re even.”
He could see Fuma’s eyes widen comically. The man opened and closed his mouth like a fish out of water. Was that a rejection?
“What do you think, pretty boy?” Yudai added, trying to get words out of Fuma.
“I– Are you sure?” Fuma had the nerve to seem confused about Yudai’s offer.
“I am.” Yudai took the last sip from his coffee.
“Okay,” Fuma finally replied, visibly biting his lip to stop himself from smiling, even though the corners of his lips betrayed him.
“Okay,” Yudai repeated. “You won’t be getting rid of me anytime soon, pretty boy,” he added for good measure.
Yudai:
he isn’t a freak, in case you guys were wondering
and he’s taking me out on a date 😘