Chapter Text
Terushima shut the door to the salon behind him, managing to stifle a yawn until he was on the sidewalk and out of sight of his manager. He stretched his arms high and then dropped them with a sigh before rubbing his shoulders. It had been a long shift and he'd been in charge of all of the smaller tasks that, while important and in need of being done, weren't exactly the most 'fun' or stimulating activities in the world. The best part about his shift today was that it had been an opening shift, which meant he now had the rest of the day to find something more entertaining to do.
His gaze absently dropped to his left hand and focused on the red string tied to his pinky as loose as ever. He'd yet to find whoever was on the other end, but multiple of the clients at the salon today had shared their stories and he couldn't help but feel a sense of anticipation as he gave it a gentle pull. It didn't tighten, unsurprisingly, but he knew eventually it would. Some people went their whole lives without ever finding who they were connected to, but he could feel it. He knew he'd find his soulmate. But for now, all he had was others' stories. Some of the stories involved traveling and searching all over, whereas others simply stumbled upon their soulmates on the street. Terushima wished that he had the ability to be able to travel around in search of his soulmate, but that just wasn’t in the cards and wouldn’t be any time soon. He’d just have to be one of the ones lucky enough to run into them while out and about. Others might think his optimism was misplaced, but he didn’t much care. Things would work out, he was sure of it.
For now though, he finished stretching away the physical fatigue from work and pulled his phone out to catch up on the group chat. He shot a text to see if anyone was available to hang out, but, unfortunately, the downside to getting off his shift early showed itself in his friends all still either being at work themselves, or stuck in class. He groaned at the inevitable boredom and stopped walking abruptly, noting that in his distracted state, he had ended up in a side of town he didn't normally go to. A delicious scent wafted his way and he took a deep breath, almost able to taste the cookies and cupcakes on his tongue. A sign on the door in front of him announced the building as a bakery of some sort and he raised his left hand to push it open.
He froze.
The red string, always loose and dragging, was suddenly pulled taut, passing through the door, beckoning Terushima to open it and see what fate had in store.
Terushima didn't waste another second before shoving the door and stepping confidently into the bakery.
He couldn’t help a cocky grin as he noticed the dark haired beauty behind the counter. The glass display case below her was filled with different pastries, cookies, cupcakes, danishes and the like. The shop worker was average height, had shoulder-length black hair, a little mole on her chin, and grey eyes that seemed to pierce his soul. He ran his right hand through his hair, and sent her his best wink.
She returned it with a withering stare.
"How can I help you?" she asked in a neutral tone, obviously well-trained in customer service, though her eyes told him to back off. Terushima ignored the unspoken suggestion as he sidled up to the counter.
"Got anythin’ sweet for me?" he drawled, still grinning as he leaned against the glass case.
"We are a bakery, sir. Everything here is sweet," she dead panned, her face giving nothing away.
"Even you?" Terushima asked. He knew he was laying it on a bit thick, but she stood her ground. He had the distinct impression that she wanted to roll her eyes but she kept her stare level, even her blinking was carefully controlled. She refused to answer and so he lifted his left hand, intending to point at something in a display case while showing off the string that surely connected them, and hesitated. The red string was tight, tighter than it had been at the door, but it wasn't pulling in her direction.
In fact, he felt a little pull on the string, and turned just in time to catch sight of someone a bit taller than him with green-hair, a face full of freckles, and bright eyes let out a squeak and disappear into a back room.
He stared at the spot where the man had disappeared, watching as the red string between them began to grow looser as the person on the other end, his soul mate, presumably ran away.
"How interestin’," Terushima chuckled when he heard the distinct sound of a door shutting in the back of the store. The cashier looked away from where her coworker had disappeared and turned her steely gaze back on him.
"Will you be purchasing anything or not, sir?" she asked brusquely, breaking Terushima out of his thoughts.
He shook his head and began walking backwards, not quite ready to leave, yet knowing he wasn't going to meet his soulmate just yet. The string was back to its usual loose state. "I'll come back another time," he finally said, giving her a wave as he left through the door.
Terushima had wanted to visit the bakery again immediately, but it was almost a week before he made it back. The bakery wasn't open every day and closed early, and it took Terushima a couple of days to figure out how to work a visit with his schedule, but finally, the stars aligned. He had the day off, the bakery was open, and he had a plan.
Sort of.
Terushima really wasn't the type to have strict plans, so he had more of a concept of a plan than an actual plan. But, things usually worked out for him and when they didn't, he could roll with it. He made his way back to that part of town and stopped briefly at a flower shop along the way. He wasn't really sure what his soulmate would like, hell, he didn't even know his name, but everyone liked flowers, right? He did think that roses might have come across a little strong, so he had a bouquet of some other flower, carnations, that looked and smelled nice. He had slicked back his hair and was wearing one of his best outfits.
It was too late for a good first impression, especially since he had almost certainly heard Terushima hitting on his coworker, but a good second impression could still do wonders.
He paused outside of the bakery to check the string on his left pinky–pulled taut and running through the door. He nodded at the confirmation that his soulmate was indeed present and stepped confidently into the shop, once again seeing the woman at the counter.
She acted as if she didn't remember him, even as he gave her his charming smile. "How can I help you, sir?" she asked as neutral as the last time. He did catch as her gaze shifted subtly towards the flowers before moving back to stare through him.
"You could help me by tellin' me where Freckles is?" he asked with a laugh, gesturing with his left hand meaningfully.
Something in her expression changed and if he didn't know better, he'd say she seemed amused. "I'm not sure what you're talking about, sir. I don't know of any pastry called 'Freckles.'"
Terushima blinked slowly, then shook his head. "You know, tall. Green hair. Bright golden eyes. Freckles dottin' his face like the stars in the sky. Ring any bells?"
The woman thought for a moment, resting her finger along her chin as her eyes darted towards the partially ajar door to the back before coming to focus again on Terushima. "May I inquire as to why you are asking?"
Terushima gestured with the flowers in his right hand, while giving a little pull to the string on his left. "Well," he started, smile growing when he saw the door open further, "I thought he was kinda cute and it looks like we may be connected, if ya catch my meaning." He held his left hand up, fingers splayed out, as if he was displaying a ring. The red string was the tightest he had seen it. Just a few feet away…
The door fully opened and Terushima gave a genuine smile as everything around him seemed to fall away. He held the flowers out and nodded his head slightly as he introduced himself without preamble, "Terushima Yūji, your soulmate."
The other stepped forward with a shy smile, and took the flowers, accidentally brushing against his hand and sending a zap of energy flowing through them at the contact. "Yamaguchi Tadashi. Thank you for the flowers." He smelled the bouquet then met Terushima's eyes. Terushima felt his heart skip a beat at the soft expression on his star-studded face. "I look forward to getting to know you."
Terushima let out a breath and grinned brightly. He didn't know what fate had in store for them next, but he couldn't wait to find out.