Chapter Text
Rays of sunlight pool onto you and your bed through the blinds of the window, the light of a new day nudging you awake as it slowly crawls it's way across your sleeping form. You groan as it makes it's way directly into your eyes. You turn over to postpone your awakening, but it only takes half an hour for it to reach your face once again. You want to go back to sleep.
But you can't.
You reach out from under your blanket for your phone on the bedside table, exposing your arm to the cold air of the early Spring. With a slight shiver, you grab the device and pull it quickly towards you, simultaneously pulling your blanket over your head to trap the warm air of your breath and body.
You wipe the wetness from the screen from your breath as you skim through your notifications, hoping for anything interesting to appear, a good morning text, a recommended article. However, nothing. Aside from your normal spam emails and the weather, there was nothing of note on your phone today. You turn your phone off and lay there, briefly weighing the decision of staying in bed all day rather than going to work.
However, you are just fine. If you call in, you will feel guilty.
And you'll make less money.
With a quick glance at the clock to decipher how much time you have to get ready, you begrudgingly roll out of your warm, comfortable bed and into the cold air and make your way through your home and to the kitchen.
Nothing sounds good.
You think, scanning your cabinets and fridge for your breakfast choices. You're out of milk, so a bowl of cereal is out of the question. A mental note is made to pick up a gallon on the way home from work, though you make another mental note that you'll likely forget anyways.
Coffee it is.
You make your way back into your bedroom and get dressed, business casual being the dress code for your boring office job. Black slacks and a pale blue blouse under a black suit jacket will do just fine, with shiny black shoes and a long black button up coat to protect you from the weather. Despite the cold, the office was close enough to walk, so walk you did. Every day, no matter the weather.
As you step out of your door and into the sunlight, you flinch. The sun hadn't shown itself this brightly in weeks. As grateful as you were for the warmth on your skin, the robbery of your vision was not so beloved. You fumble in your pockets as you begin to walk, finding your sunglasses and putting them on as you make your way towards the office.
The bustling city wakes up with you, cars driving past and people walking by. Though you weren't downtown and in what some may call the outskirts, it was still the city. Buildings still tower over you despite the smaller businesses that make up most of the street and marijuana and/or cigarettes can still be smelled at random.
No matter your feelings for the scent of cigarettes, however, you didn't appreciate the cloud blown directly into your face from your left as you turned the corner.
"Oh, shit," you curse, waving your hand in the air and stopping in your tracks. You squeeze your burning eyes shut as you make a face, briefly concerned about the smell sticking to your clothes. The man does not apologize.
"Watch where you're going." He says blankly, more smoke escaping his lips - at least he has the consideration to aim it away from you as he speaks. You scoff and kiss your teeth, smoothing out your clothes as you continue your walk.
A minute passes before you hear the sweet tingle of the brass bell in front of the door ringing as you enter your favorite café. You breathe out a sigh of relief as the smell of freshly ground coffee beans replace the bitter scent of tobacco and nicotine that hangs in your nose. Taking a deep breath, you approach the counter. The tall man in front of you orders a medium black coffee.
-+-+-+-+-+-
"I thought you didn't smoke, (y/n)." You look up from your computer and over your blue light glasses to look at the woman sat at the desk in front of you, turned around to talk. Slowly, you take off your glasses and fold them before tucking them in your breast pocket.
"I don't." You say.
"You smell a bit like cigarettes."
"Somebody blew their smoke straight into me on my walk in this morning. Even so, it's impressive you can even smell it." You tilt your head down to briefly smell yourself. You're met with the scent of coffee, your deodorant, and your laundry detergent. "I can't smell it."
"You get the sense after smoking a pack a day for a few years, I guess."
"What do you need, Cathryn?" You say this as politely as you're able. Cathy had the habit of trying to spark a conversation with you before asking a favor, as if to ease you into saying yes. She was terrible at it. Even so, she smiles sweetly.
"I was just wondering if you could deliver this for me." She smiles shyly, slowly holding up a small white box below her eyes. You look at it and furrow your eyebrows, frustrated at the interruption in your focus for something so miniscule.
"...to where?"
"Upstairs. There's a law firm a floor above us and I've got my eye on this one that's gained quite the reputation. He's foreign." You press your lips together in a tight line and keep your eyebrows knitted together.
"Foreign?" You repeat. There's a slight disappointment in your voice at the woman.
"He's from Japan. Immigrated here a few years ago." She sighs. "His English is just excellent." You can't help the faces you make. "Stop frowning, you'll get lines." Your forehead relaxes immediately, mostly just in surprise of the sudden motherly chastisement.
"You've always got your eye on somebody," you sigh. "How old is he? 20 or 60?" It's Cathryn's turn to frown, her face growing red in embarrassment. She had a habit of setting her sights on men that were either 20 years her junior or 20 years her senior.
"I heard he's in his 30's." She huffs. Though your glasses are in your pocket, you look at her as if over them.
"You've never talked to him?"
"...No. But we've ridden in the elevator together a few times when I've worked overtime."
"Then how do you know his English is good?"
"I heard him talk. He still has an accent, but-"
"What's in the box?" Cathryn huffs again, and you're tempted to tell her that her face is going to get stuck like that.
"It's nothing, actually. I'll give it to him myself." She crosses her arms and turns back around dramatically.
"Great, let me know how it goes." You sigh, retrieving your blue light glasses and returning them to your face. It doesn't take long for the woman to turn around to face you again. Before she even speaks, you sigh heavily and the glasses return to your pocket.
"You at least have to see him, (y/n). You'd understand. He's a very handsome man. Your classic tall, dark, and handsome."
"I'm sure he is." You're done with the conversation now, not even bothering with the glasses.
"Just stay late tonight. He usually stays until pretty late, around 9 or so."
"There's no way I'm staying that late.. and it's creepy that you know that."
-+-+-+-+-+-
You look at the clock.
9:03 pm.
A grave sigh leaves you as you close out your final project for the day. A few of your coworkers were still at their desks, typing away on their keyboards, albeit slowly. It was silent in the office otherwise, and you make a mental note of the steadily increasing workload. You had been staying later recently, sure, but four hours past your time to clock out?
Thank God you're hourly. The check will be nice.
"Alright. I'm heading out." You sigh, standing up and stretching. Your coworkers hum their goodnights, and you grab your coat. As you walk to the exit, putting it on, you notice a man - Jason is his name - snoring softly. His fingers are still on the keyboard and his screen saver reflects off of his clear skin. You would think he was just sitting their with his eyes closed if the snoring hasn't given him away.
"Jason." You say, tapping his shoulder. He jolts awake, causing you to jump as well.
"I'm up!" He says, a little too loudly. You can't help but laugh.
"Go home and get some sleep."
"Okay, sure, maybe I should do that... What time is it?" Jason looks around him, his pale blue eyes shifting from desk to desk to see who was still around. You pretend not to see the massive clock directly in front of the man.
"It's after 9."
"Shit."
"Goodnight, Jason," you smile. "Be safe."
"Yeah, you too."
"See you tomorrow."
You head down the long hallway to the elevator, yawning and running your hands through your hair. The sound of your footsteps on the tile flooring echoes off the grey walls. You get to the elevator and press the 'down' button with your knuckle. You yawn again as you watch the red digital number slowly count down the floors as it came closer to you. It pauses at the floor above for a while before coming to you.
Ding!
The doors open to reveal a man in a black suit with a circular pin on the left lapel, tall and exhausted. He stood with his eyes closed as if he were sleeping where he stood, his hands clasped together in front of him. You were hesitant to enter, as if you feared waking him up, but enter you did. When you enter, the button for the ground floor is already lit up.
As any elevator ride is when you're next to someone else, the air is awkward - though, of course, only for you. You worked on the 17th floor, so the ride down is long. No one else in the building had apparently decided to work the hours you did, because the elevator never stopped. You take a moment to look at the man next to you. He's tall, at least 6 foot, and his thick hair is a very dark brown, styled. He is clean shaven and appears well groomed aside from the few stray hairs that fell onto his forehead, the only evidence he was, in fact, human. His eyelashes were thick and dark, and his eyebrows matched. Even though his expression was relaxed, they made him look sad, worrisome - tired. The most prominent thing about the man is his sharp features - specifically his nose. Downturned and prominent, a bump on the bridge between his eyes.
He's a handsome man.
Tall, dark, and handsome.
Ohhhh shit!
The elevator finally stops at the ground floor, and the man doesn't move. You wait a few seconds, and he stands completely still.
Is he asleep?
The doors start to close, so you hit the 'open' button before opening your mouth to speak.
"Excuse me," you start. The man doesn't move. "Is this your floor?" You speak quite a bit louder, this time, but his eyes don't open. You gulp, hitting the open door button again as you reach for him, anxious. "Hey, is-" as soon as you touch him, he jumps slightly.
"Oh, I..." He starts, blinking quickly. His hangdog eyes match the rest of him. Dark and exhausted. "I apologize. I must have..." His eyes meet yours. You move your arm in the doorway instead of hitting the button this time. Despite his height advantage, he turns his head downward so that his eyes look up at you. "I must have fallen asleep."
"You're good." you nod, motioning for him to exit before you. He shakes his head and mirrors the notion.
"Ladies first." Your eyes widen slightly as if processing what he said.
"Oh! Thank you!" The elevator doors close completely and you hit the button - again. You step out, flustered with the incredibly awkward situation.
"Have a good night, ma'am." He calls after you.
"You too!" You reply, only turning your head slightly and waving your hand in good-bye. It's only made slightly extra awkward that he's following you, as there's only one exit, but you're walking faster.
The cold air hits you as you open the door and you wrap your coat tighter around yourself. You shiver and huff as you do so and shove your hands into your pockets as you begin walking home in long strides, your teeth chattering. You weren't freezing, but it was times like these where you wished you'd just drive your car. But the environment.
A few minutes pass before you hear footsteps behind you, walking quickly. It occurs to you now that you're walking home alone at night in the city, and that maybe you should have asked Jason to walk or drive you home. You pick up your pace slightly before you hear someone call out.
"Excuse me, ma'am." You flinch slightly, but slow down to allow whoever to catch up. You could run, but they might chase. Turning your head slightly, you see that it's the lawyer, now in a long black coat and scarf. You stop walking and turn around to face him. "You're ok?"
"What?" He furrows his eyebrows and frowns, looking up in thought.
"Are you okay?" He clarifies. He looks back at you, his head tilted downward again. It was odd, you noted, that despite his almost ashamed body language, he exuded a dominance and superiority.
"What do you mean?"
"Well," he starts. He doesn't break eye contact with you as he speaks. "You are walking alone, and it's dark out." He glances upwards at the pitch black sky for a moment as if to make a point. "We are in a city. Can I walk with you?"
"What?"
"May I walk you home?"
The two of you stand there in silence for a minute, your eyebrows knitted together as you stare at the lawyer. His expression is blank but his eyes don't leave yours.
"I don't want you to go out of your way."
"I am already walking, anyways. It cannot be that far." You let out a long breath, watching the cloud escaping your mouth swirl and dissipate through the air.
"That wouldn't be so bad."
"...that means yes?"
"Yes."
He nods and begins to walk forward to take place next to you, and you walk together. It's a comfortable silence for a while despite the air of awkwardness. You can't help but smile a little in appreciation. He seems like a gentleman.
"What should I call you?" You ask.
"I'm sorry?"
"Your name. What is it?"
He hums as if in thought.
"Hiromi Higuruma."
Your eyebrows twitch upwards for a second before you whisper it to yourself as if it will help you remember. Japanese people go by their last names, right?
"Higuruma is a pretty name. Does it mean anything?" He pauses, glancing sideways at you.
"To put it simply.. sunflower."
"That's ironic."
"I don't know that word."
"Right. Uhm, it means it's the opposite of what you're expecting, I guess. In an amusing way."
"What were you expecting?"
"I'm... Not sure. Just not that. It suits you, though." You pause before clarifying. "I saw your lawyer pin. It looks like a sunflower. Uh, like your name."
"That is because it is a sunflower."
"Exactly. Uhm, turn here." You point to the left, and the two of you stop at the cross walk, looking both ways. You start forward, but Higuruma stops you.
"It's a red hand. Do not cross."
"What are you, a cop?"
"I am a lawyer."
You can't help but laugh, and Higuruma smiles at you, offering a small breath out of his nose in amusement. Despite your usual habit of jaywalking, you humor the lawyer and wait for it to be perfectly legal to cross. When the white 'walk' symbol appears, the two of you walk to the other side of the street. It's only about another five minutes to yours, which you express to Higuruma. He nods, slowly.
"It is about the same for me."
"Really?" You ask. He nods. "Where do you live?"
"High Rise."
"That's where I live."
"....oh."
There's another awkward silence aside from you clearing your throat.
"What floor?" You prod.
"Third floor."
"I'm on the fourth."
"I leave very early. That must be why I have never seen you before."
"Did you move in recently?"
"A few months ago." He scratches his chin and looks downwards as he walks. "I suppose we miss each other." You open your mouth to say something else but decide against it, only nodding instead.
Finally, you both approach the apartment building, scanning your key cards to enter. You head up the stairs, stopping at floor three before you turn around to look at the gentleman who'd walked you home.
"This is the third floor," he speaks before you can say anything. "You are not home yet." You smile and continue up the stairs. At the fourth floor, you stop again and Higuruma offers a small smile.
"Are you good to let me go here or do you want to walk me to my door, too?"
"Do you mind me knowing your exact address?" You shrug. He has a point, but he already knows your floor.
"Our names are on our mail slots downstairs. It doesn't matter."
"Right." With this, he walks with you to your door. You unlock it before turning around.
"Thank you for walking me home, sir." You nod, bowing slightly.
"You don't need to thank me. I would have been thinking about it until I saw you next if I let you walk alone."
"Thinking about me?" You tease. Higuruma rolls his eyes weakly, but he doesn't frown.
"Safety is important. Please do find me if you are to stay that late again." Your face heats up slightly, and he notices quickly.
"Or anyone. I am sure you work with many trustworthy men."
"Thank you, Higuruma." You repeat your thanks.
"I would accept your thanks if you would tell me your name." He responds. You cringe slightly, embarrassed that you forgot.
"My name is (y/n). (Y/n (l/n)." Higuruma repeats it, sounding it out quietly to himself before nodding.
"That's a good name. Pretty. It suits you well."
"See you later, Higuruma." You say, trying and failing to hold back a smile as a light pink dusts your cheeks.
"See you later." He repeats. You turn around again and open your door, stepping inside your apartment. As you turn again to close it, you see Higuruma still standing there, and you wave as you slowly close the door, smiling foolishly. His lips twitch into a smile as he does the same before you close the door completely and he's out of sight.
You sigh heavily and lean back against the door, closing your eyes. The silly grin on your face is uncontrollable and you change into your pajamas quickly before flopping down onto your bed, giggling and kicking your feet.
The interaction was not necessarily romantic but such attention one on one with a tall and handsome man was something you hadn't experienced in a long time, if ever. You plug your phone in before tucking yourself into bed, the happy expression never leaving your face. Despite your excitement, though, you quickly began to drift off to sleep as soon as your eyes closed. There was one thing you thought to yourself right before losing consciousness.
I forgot to stop for milk.