Work Text:
Floyd yawned, his arms stretching out as far as they would go. Today was like any other; no one to talk to with only the occasional train passing by. It felt as if they were mocking him whenever they blew the whistle.
The entrance of the station was one of the only openings for him to look out into the outside world. In the distance, large oak trees swayed with the light breeze. The small picture that the open doorframe painted for him let him get a view of the sun rays falling upon the dews that sat upon blades of grass, making them sparkle.
He sighed and glanced at the clock. 12:00 PM .
Perfect.
Floyd smiled and grabbed his bento, leaving his post while practically skipping down the steps of the train station. It’s so stuffy in there, being left alone with only his thoughts and a half-finished sudoku page. It gets even lonelier when he can hear the faint voices of the other villagers outside while he’s stuck manning a practically abandoned station.
His lunch break was one of the only times he got to socialize, aside from after work (which he didn’t really get a chance to do when he was too tired from paperwork and just wanted to go home).
Floyd followed the path to Momo’s tea house, where he could see some of the villagers already seated. He could see the Candiru Corp surveyor, Draper, seated at Bobo’s ramen cart along with a possum whom he didn’t quite recognize.
He set his bento down on one of the vacant tables and made his way to the front counter, where he could see Momo boiling water in the kitchen.
“Mmh… Floyd…” she said, slowly turning her head when she noticed him. “Welcome… back…”
“Hey, Momo,” he said. “It’s nice seeing you again, hah.”
Momo slowly nodded. “What would… you like..?”
“I’ll have Sencha today,” Floyd said.
“Mmh… good choice…” Momo said. “I will… call you when it’s done…”
“Thanks a bunch!” Floyd said, handing her the money. She nodded again before slowly going into the kitchen to make the tea.
Floyd went to sit back down at his table when he noticed an occupant across from his bento. Clipboard in hand, shoulders tense, dress shirt and tailored pants. Ah, Benny.
“Hey, Benny!” Floyd said, catching the tanuki’s attention. “Nice seeing you here today.”
“A-Ah!” Benny perked up at the sound of his name and glanced to where Floyd was standing. He then glimpsed at the bento that he probably hadn’t noticed. “Sorry! I didn’t realize you were sitting here!”
Benny moved to get up, but paused when Floyd’s hand hit the table with a loud thump .
He looked up to see Floyd’s bright yet desperate eyes. “It’s alright! I don’t mind sharing a table with you.”
“Re-Really?” Benny stammered. “I mean… if you don’t mind…”
“Of course not!” Floyd said. He internally winced at how loud he was being. He could see Momo’s slightly disapproving eyes in his peripheral vision. He didn’t want to admit it to himself in hopes that this was all just a passing feeling, but he’s found himself… touch starved.
He was passionate about his job; trains were awesome! How could he not love them? But, this was not exactly how he imagined his career to be. He had high hopes for himself when he was striving to be a train conductor, but ultimately found himself in this position.
The station was quiet, not even the sound of a radio or cassette player to keep him company. He didn’t have many close friends ever since he moved from the city to this small rural village. It’s hard to keep friendships when you couldn’t see them often, and he found himself being excluded from so many events when they knew he couldn’t come. In fact, after a while, they just stopped asking.
It hurt a little, at first. He could understand where they were coming from. Why invite someone if you know they aren’t going to show up? But, a small part of him was upset at that new development. His friends inviting him to things despite the distance was one of the only things that made him feel like they still cared. Now it was gone, and he was left with a boring, train-less job.
So he found himself acting more irrationally than he normally did. Back in college, he wasn’t the type to invite people out or make the first move. Now, in some sort of desperation, he was talking with as many people as he could to get that sense of socialization or, at least, a sense of belonging back.
…
Wow. He should really talk to someone about that.
“So…”
“..S-So?”
“How’s work been for you?” Floyd said. What a conversation starter.
Benny bristled at the question. Floyd mentally berated himself; of course Benny would get nervous at a work question! He’s always anxious when it comes to his job.
“U-Uh… I mean, it’s been less stressful than usual?” Benny said quietly. “Less, uh, com-complaints.”
“That’s good,” Floyd said, taking a bite of his bento. “Have any updates on the trains yet?”
Ah, shoot. “I-I, uh ,” Benny flushed. “I’m working on tha-that. It’s just that the add-address and the, uhm, distance to the station, er-”
“No, it’s okay! I didn’t mean to make it sound like I was complaining to you,” Floyd said quickly, turning away. He really fumbled there. Benny is a walking ball of anxiety and nerves, so mentioning work like that out of nowhere must’ve startled him.
“Right…” Benny took a breath. “How about you, Floyd?”
“What about me?” Floyd pointed a finger at himself.
“Yea-Yeah, what about your job?”
“Ehh… It’s not really that interesting. Just a lot of paperwork, I suppose.” Then he laughed. “I guess you could say we’re in the same boat, huh, Benny?”
Benny didn’t say anything. Floyd felt his smile dim. Did he say something wrong? He supposed their jobs weren’t that comparable; Benny worked his butt off day and night to help the village out and what did he do? Wait for a nonexistent train to come by? He could see why Benny might be offended.
“Hey, Benny, I’m sor-” Floyd cut himself off. The sight of Benny’s face caught his eye, which was different from all the other times he’s seen him.
Typically, Benny’s face was scrunched up when he was focusing on something. He usually had a furrowed brow and his lips were pinched up like he had tasted something sour. But, now…
Benny’s mouth twitched up before transforming into one of the most adorable expressions Floyd’s ever seen. If it was dark out, he wouldn’t even know with how bright his smile was. It was like looking at a beacon of light or at a rainbow after a storm. Why doesn’t he smile like that more often?
Benny’s face was flushed pink when he smiled (a mental note that Floyd made for later) and, apparently, so did the tips of his ears.
“Y-Yeah, I guess so,” Benny said, still smiling.
Floyd felt his heart skip a beat. What was going on? Why was the sight of Benny (of all people) making his chest hurt? This was a friend ( friend? ) that he was talking to here! He’s never felt this way when he used to talk to his old friends or even now when he chatted with Tsuki. Why now?
“Rig-Right!” Floyd said, pushing down the sudden feelings that threatened to spill out.
Momo came along shortly after to deliver their drinks. Floyd flinched at the focused stare she was shooting him, looking away sheepishly. She was onto him, even before he knew what was happening.
“Can’t go wro-wrong with Momo’s tea, huh?” Benny said, taking a sip of his drink. Floyd wasn’t sure what it was, but the aroma matched Benny perfectly.
Floyd took a sip of his Sencha and nodded. “Definitely. She’s amazing with this stuff!”
Benny happily sipped his tea, unaware of the effect that he had on him. Floyd felt his heart clench as he watched Benny smile into his cup. If he had Benny by his side everyday, there was no way he would get bored. Especially when he was like eye candy.
…Hey, what?
‘Eye candy?!’ Floyd screamed in his head. ‘What am I going on about? This is no way to treat someone holding the mayor position! He’s practically my boss!’
“You know, Floyd,” Benny said, breaking Floyd out of his panicked trance. “Spending ti-time with you is, uhm, very enjo-enjoyable… Thank you for allowing me to sit with you…”
Floyd blushed and looked down at his lap sheepishly. He scratched his nape in embarrassment. “Haha… it’s really nothing, Benny. You’re pretty fun to hang out with, too!”
Floyd smiled at the bashful look that overtook Benny’s expression. The sight of seeing Benny’s tail wagging happily also helped ease his mind.
“We should hang out more often, man!” Floyd said suddenly, taking a sip of tea. There was a pregnant pause before Floyd fully processed what he had said. Did- Did he just invite Benny to spend time together?
Floyd watched somewhat horrified with himself as Benny’s eyes went so wide that there seemed to be more sclera than pupil. The tanuki blinked a few times at the proposition before his mouth dropped open to form a small circle.
“Ah…”
‘ That must’ve made him uncomfortable! ’ Floyd thought, pleading with himself to get it together. ‘ We’re not that close anyway! What am I doing? Am I seriously that desperate?! ’
“You don’t have to say yes if you don’t want to, obviously, haha!” Floyd said, trying but failing to hide the embarrassment that overcame him. He felt a sudden rush of heat make its way to his face which he unfortunately could not hold down like the rest of his irrational emotions. “I definitely understand if you’re busy these days, especially with the recent office union backlashes and whatnot-”
Floyd was interrupted by the feeling of a hand on his mouth. Looking up, he was met with dark brown eyes and a flushed face.
“Bweuhnnee?” Floyd said, his voice muffled under Benny’s hand.
“I-I, uh-uhm..” Benny moved his hand and sat back down in his seat. He was clearly avoiding eye contact, looking everywhere but Floyd. “Sor-Sorry… I just… uh, I also want to, er, hang out with you…”
“Oh!” Floyd beamed. “Really? That’s great! It’s been getting a little lonely up there so it’ll be nice having some sort of interaction with people.”
Benny looked at him with an expression that Floyd couldn’t quite decipher. It wasn’t anger nor was it sadness. Disappointment? No… Or was it-
Worry .
“Floyd…” Benny started. “I didn’t realize you were isolated at the train station…”
“No, no! It’s okay! It’s honestly fine, just a little boring. I’m being dramatic,” Floyd frantically said. His attempts to cover up his embarrassment and desire for connection were deemed useless when Benny stared at him with an unimpressed look. “I- Uhh…”
“ Floyd .”
He flinched. What the heck? Since when has Benny had such an authoritarian voice? Was it always this deep? Commanding? And why in the world were the butterflies in his stomach going haywire?
“...Yes?”
“Please be honest with me,” Benny said. He was practically pleading, looking at him with almost puppy-like eyes. “Would you like me to accompany you at the train station more often?”
Floyd resisted the urge to immediately say yes. He didn’t want to admit that he was lonely; what kind of loser willingly picks a job that he claims to love only to complain afterwards? Him, apparently. He hated the idea of going back to the station in a few minutes to get back to his shift, lasting hours on end without sound or socialization. But he felt like it was already past the deadline. He’s been working here for a while now, so why should he bring this up now? Benny will then know that he’s been hiding stuff from him and cause him to panic even more than he already does. He does not need anymore on his plate, let alone a daily visit to the train station just to talk with Floyd when he could be doing much more productive things.
“I mean… I want you to visit, Benny,” Floyd said. “It’s just… I know you’re always so busy and working to help the village and I don’t want to keep you from your job. Especially with something as trivial as this.”
“Trivial?” Benny looked at him seriously. “Floyd, this is not trivial. In fact, it’s very important that I know this. It’s my job to help this village, and if you aren’t being helped, what does that say about me and my po-position?”
Floyd smiled softly. Everyone knew Benny had a lot on his plate (including Benny), yet he was still offering to visit him all because Floyd can’t handle being alone sometimes. Even with the kind proposition, Floyd still felt terrible.
“I know, and I appreciate the offer, Benny, but…”
“...Bu-But?”
Floyd sighed. “I can’t ask that of you. You have so much work to do. Why would you waste time visiting me when I know that you’d rather spend that time resting?”
Floyd forced himself not to look up to see Benny’s face. This was humiliating. Benny was trying so hard to help him, yet he was pushing him away.
“Floyd, look at me…” Hesitantly, Floyd lifted his chin. He used all of his self-control to not react at the expression that painted Benny’s face; worried and commiserating yet serious and intimidating. It was at that moment that Floyd was reminded of why exactly Benny was the standing mayor. “Ple-Please don’t think that you’re a burden to me… I want to visit you… I wou-wouldn’t have offered if- if I didn’t want to…”
It was all too sudden. Floyd could feel his heart beating like crazy. He couldn’t put a name to the emotions he was feeling, only knowing that the amount of feeling he had was beginning to make his head hurt. For a moment, he thought about running back to the train station so he didn’t have to face the emotions he kept buried inside of him for months.
Benny was so capable. He didn’t need someone like him to burden him. His thoughts were cut off by Benny’s words echoing throughout the walls of his brain. No, he wasn’t a burden. He wasn’t expendable. Benny just wanted to be a good friend and colleague.
“...Okay,” Floyd said.
“O-Okay?”
“I… I do want you to visit me sometime. It, uh, I guess it does get a little lonely up there,” Floyd said. It felt somewhat good to get it off his chest.
Benny’s face softened. “Mm… I will visit you from now on, Flo-Floyd. Starting tomorrow.”
“Right… Hey, Benny?” Floyd said.
Benny was beginning to get up from his seat, likely to get back to work, when he paused. “Ye-Yes?”
“Thanks.”
Benny’s nervous frown eased into a genuine smile. “It’s no- no problem. It’s my jo-job after all… uh… if you’d like…” Benny fidgeted. “Would you lik-like to hang out this Saturday?”
The world seemed to freeze as Floyd’s brain caught up with the situation. Was Benny proposing to spend time with him? After all this time of going home alone and deprived of essential social relationships, he was finally getting his consolation. The corners of his mouth twitched up into a toothy grin.
“Sure! After work?”
Benny nodded shyly, a red blush overtaking his features. Cute . “Y-Yeah. See yo-you!”
Floyd waved goodbye as Benny began walking down the path towards the town hall. Even from a distance, he swore that he could still see the red tint that painted Benny’s face.
Now left alone with his own thoughts, he buried his face in his hands, swearing. He wasn’t sure what happened, all he knew was that he had an outing with the village’s mayor after a long shift of nothingness. Not that he was upset with that outcome; in fact, he was delighted, unable to stop his tail from wagging happily.
Who knew that a simple lunch break could have led to the start of a friendship? Floyd didn’t. But, one thing’s for sure. Floyd hoped that this wouldn’t be a one time thing. And, if he was lucky, he hoped that their friendship would develop into something more… intimate.
But that could wait. He had a date to prepare for.