Archive of Our Own ^beta

There’s a convenience store in the bad part of town. It’s kind of shabby, and the owner who runs it usually isn’t there, and in the past there may have been a few robberies or two.

But Erina’s boyfriend works there, so it’s one of her favorite places.

The day is bright and sunny, with a few puffy white clouds in the sky, and it makes the street look innocuous. Erina stands at the crosswalk, waiting for the light to turn green so she can get to the other side and into the store. 

“Such a pretty smile,” says an old woman’s voice, and Erina looks to her right to see a little old lady standing beside her. Erina hadn’t realized she was smiling, but she perks up at the remark.

“Thank you, miss! And your smile is very pretty too!”

The old woman is surprised momentarily by the compliment, but gives a bashful chuckle and tucks a silver hair behind her ear. “What a sweet girl you are. What’s got you in such a good mood, dear?”

“I’m paying my boyfriend a surprise visit,” Erina says. “He’s a cashier over there.”

“Ah, so it’s young love.” The old woman nods. “He’s a lucky man to have such a nice girl like you. Make sure you don’t let him get away.”

“I’ll make sure! And the same for your husband, too!” 

Yikes. Why did she just say that? What if her husband was dead, or what if he’d run off in their youth? But she couldn’t just ask those kind of questions.

The old woman doesn’t seem to be offended, though. In fact, she’s quite good-natured. “Never in all the years I’ve known him, dear. With a little luck, you and your boy will be like us one day.” She nods again, content. “Yes. You remind me of myself when I was a young lady.”

When the light turns green, Erina offers her arm to the old woman to help her across the street. All the while, she feels lighter than air. Of course, she’d fantasized about a future with Shin before, but this was like a sign from the universe confirming it, right? Marrying and growing old together… wouldn’t that be so nice?

She and the old woman part ways as the old woman goes down the sidewalk and Erina goes into the convenience store. She doesn’t actually head straight for the reception counter, where Shin is, though she usually would. But she’s got her eye on a snack, because this place happens to serve a tiny to-go plate of spicy chicken katsu in plastic wrap. Is it the highest quality? Maybe not. But has she been craving it? Yes. (Plus… Shin won’t kiss her right after she’s eaten spicy food, so she kind of has to eat it when he’s out and then wait for him to come back.)

She picks it up and heads right to the reception counter to pay for it. There’s a girl in front of her, buying some snacks and making small talk with Shin. 

He looks really cute in his striped shirt uniform, doesn’t he…

“Are you having a nice day?” Shin asks the girl in front of Erina as he scans her things.

“Yep! With this weather, it’s hard not to,” she says sweetly. She tilts her head, and her dark hair falls elegantly to the side. “It’s hot, though, and there’s no air conditioning in here… How are you holding up? With that hat on…”

“Oh, I’m fine,” Shin laughs, absentmindedly tugging on his beanie. “I’m naturally a pretty cold person.”

“That’s funny. With your attitude, I’d say you’re warm as the sun!”

Hey… why did he blush a little when she said that?

“Well, stay safe out there, miss. Don’t leave your dog in a hot car or anything.”

“You too! Luckily, I live close by, so no one’s waiting in a hot car for me.” She turns a bit to point out the glass door, and Erina can see that she’s got a round face and big dark eyes, like a cute little hamster. “That apartment, see?”

Why is she telling him where she lives?

Erina’s not a paranoid person or anything. But this girl isn’t, like, flirting with him, is she?

“Guess I’ll be seeing you around, then,” the girl continues casually.

Shin smiles and nods. “Guess so. It’ll be nice to have you.”

The girl preens at that. He hands her her snacks, and she says in a cutesy voice, “See you, Shin-san!”

“Aa—? Uh, have a nice day!” Shin replies, watching her as she skips out the door. Erina watches her too, but she feels like she’s got a big lump in the pit of her stomach that’s making her sick. How did that girl know his name? Does she come here often?

That girl was cute, Erina can admit that. She was friendly and seemed easy to talk to, and she dressed nice, and had a pretty face. And Erina’s not insecure, either, because she knows she has all of those things too. And Shin’s dating her, not that girl, so it doesn’t even matter. Right?

But the way Shin smiled at her! And he blushed when she complimented him! If he was being professional, wouldn’t that not mean anything to him? He would just smile and laugh it away. And he said it would be nice to have her around again. Cashiers don’t say that, right? And they’re not on first-name bases with their customers, either!

“Erina!” She’s snapped back to reality at the sound of someone saying her name. 

“What? Oh!” She had been in line behind that girl and hadn’t even moved forward. How embarrassing. She scurries forward and puts her chicken plate on the counter. 

“I didn’t expect you to come by,” Shin says to her.

“It was a surprise,” Erina says, trying to stay chipper. “Were you surprised?”

“Heh, in a good way. I was bored, so it’s good you showed up.”

“You didn’t seem so bored talking to that girl.”

“What girl? The one I was ringing up?” Shin laughs. “That conversation was nothing.”

“Didn’t seem like it was nothing,” Erina says, trying to sound casual and not like an insecure kid.

“Yeah, talking about the hot weather is a conversation full of lots of substance,” Shin replies. He takes on a bit of concern when he says, “You’re doing fine in the heat, right? The fan’s working?”

Like the heat is the problem here. Is he dense?

“It’s fine.” She waits a few seconds before she questions, “How did that girl know your name? Did you used to date?”

Shin blinks at her. 

“...It’s on my name tag.”

Erina’s gaze goes to his breast pocket, which has a name tag clipped to it reading SHIN in his handwriting. “Oh.”

“You thought we used to date?” Shin asks. He shakes his head and says off-handedly, “Jealous type, huh.”

What type?!

That hits Erina straight in the chest. She puffs up and snaps, “I—! I’m not jealous, Shin!”

Shin gives her a look, and she doesn’t like it, because his discerning look turns into a knowing grin. “If you weren’t, you wouldn’t act so mad.”

“Can’t I act mad when you spread slander like that?!”

“Sure, but you should really pick your battles, princess.”

Erina huffs, but Shin only hands her her chicken plate and says innocently, “Have a nice day.”

He thinks this is some kind of joke, huh? Erina wishes she had something smart to say to him, but somehow, despite him being a total loser, he’s a quick thinker. And she’s dating that loser! 

(And what if that girl was, too?)

She takes the plate, storms out the door and sulks all the way down the sidewalk, across the street, and to their apartment building, which is thankfully not the same as that other girl’s. And she thought it was so cute to underhandedly invite over Shin, huh? And then he had the nerve to call her jealous! Didn’t he know that girl was being a flirt? Erina was only defending her boyfriend, and that’s not jealousy, that’s just being a good girlfriend. She’s not jealous, because that would mean she’s insecure, and she’s not. Shin has other friends (okay, like, two), and she doesn’t see them as threats just because they’re around him. She’s a chill girlfriend, not a helicopter girlfriend. She trusts him. And plus, she’s attractive and kind, so Shin’s not gonna go looking around for other, prettier, nicer girls. Right?

“Ack!” She’s so caught up in her own thought that her head knocks into the door of her apartment. “Oww…”

Erina eats her food, and the chicken doesn’t even taste spicy, and it’s kind of mushy too. 

The fan whirs in the background. She always thought that, because it turns to the left and right to cool the area off, that it kind of looks like it has a little head turning this way and that. Like it’s looking around. It’s cute.

Now it kind of feels like the fan is avoiding looking at her. Which is dumb. She’s not being dumb, is she?

Ugh, now the room is too cold. If Shin were here, she’d bother him to give her his hat, or his scarf, or his seat on the couch. Or she would cuddle up to him, and he would hold her, and he would be extra warm because he’d be all flustered and red as she nuzzled into the crook of his neck. And he wouldn’t pull away because he always got cold, so he’d stay with her for warmth.

“I’m naturally a pretty cold person.”

“That’s funny. With your attitude, I’d say you’re warm as the sun!”

Shut up, customer girl, Erina thinks sulkily. She goes to grab the blanket from her bed that usually lays over her comforter, but had been discarded since it had been so hot lately. It’s a soft thing that’s the same cool gray as her hair. Then she bundles herself into it and sits on the couch.

Who does that girl think she is, anyway? Erina’s supposed to be the one that acts all buddy-buddy with her cashier boyfriend in front of the other customers. Not the other way around. That girl doesn’t even know him! Not like Erina does! And what if other people saw them and thought they were together? What is Erina, then? Chopped liver?

Maybe she is being a little insecure. That girl was just a customer, and it’s not like Shin can’t be nice to other girls. That’s common sense. But if it is, then why does she feel this way? Like she has to defend him at all costs? Like someone will take him away? 

(Because even if she has a huge sign that says, “That’s my boyfriend and no one else’s, sorry!” there will always be someone who doesn’t see it, or ignores it to spite her, and tries to flirt with him. The world is just full of crappy people. She has to be on the defense.)

That girl’s probably yammering to her friend on the phone that there’s a cute cashier at the convenience store down the road and maybe she has a chance with him if she plays it just right. But she doesn’t actually have a chance, so what’s the point of being so mad?

But she’s not jealous. Jealous is what her ex is whenever he sees her and Shin together. Whenever he fumes about seeing them be happy together. Erina’s not jealously fuming. She’s just kind of pissed off. Just a little bit. 

Still, being only a little bit pissed off doesn’t mean she can’t tuck herself tighter into the blanket to make herself feel better.

Erina decides to call her friend Reko and tell her about the whole thing. Besides being a generally good listener, she also doesn't like Shin, so she can tell Erina if she’s being a little unreasonable.

Unfortunately, Reko gives her about the same answer as Shin.

“So you’re jealous, then.”

Erina splutters. “Uh, no! I’m just irritated.”

“Yeah, okay. Anyone who's all irritated about that guy talking to a customer is definitely a bit jealous.”

“But I’m a chill girlfriend!”

Reko’s voice grows faint as she leans away from the phone speaker. “Alice, do you think Erina is a chill girlfriend?”

Alice says something, and then Reko’s voice becomes clearer. “He said no.”

“He said a little more than that,” Erina protests.

“The general gist of it was no.”

“Reko!”

“Look, that’s not a bad thing. Just stop lying to yourself. You can be jealous, even if you’re jealous of beanie man getting some.”

“ Reko! ” 

Reko snickers. “Alright, seriously though. Erina, it’s okay to be jealous.”

“I’m n—”

“ Erina .”

Erina sighs. Maybe Reko wouldn’t be any help after all.

Shin comes home tired, having biked from work, and yet he still has the energy to tease Erina about being in a blanket cocoon on the couch. “You look like a pillbug.”

“You look like a—” Erina searches for a comparison “—a bar code.”

Shin gives an exhale through his nose at that as he hangs up his coat. He sits down on the couch next to her. “So,” he continues, leaning back on the couch, “did you get over your little princess moment?”

“What?! Shin, I had a right to be mad!” Erina protests. 

“So that’s why you’re curled up in a blanket like a baby, then?”

“Shin, it’s not funny!”

The seriousness in her tone makes his smile falter a bit. Erina feels a bit bad about it, but at least he’s listening. “That girl was flirting with you. She might as well have brought you back to her apartment and asked you to have sex.”

“What?!” Shin stares at her incredulously. “You think that girl was asking me to—”

“Not like that! She was just flirting!” Erina exclaims. “And I was right there. You couldn’t have said that you had a girlfriend already?”

“How—” Shin cuts himself off and breathes deeply. He closes his eyes for a second, then opens them and says, “It’s hard to take you seriously when you’re curled up like a baby.”

“I wouldn’t have had to curl up like a baby if you’d been here!”

A smile is threatening to break out on his face. “Are you pouting?”

Well, not on purpose! Ugh, how embarrassing…

“No…”

Shin sighs, though it’s one of amusement. “C’mere.”

Erina narrows her eyes at him. “What?”

“Just— come here.”

Erina untangles herself from the blanket and goes over to sit with him. When she’s close enough, he pulls her in to cuddle by his side. He’s quite warm and his clothes are soft. 

“Can’t believe you’re jealous of a customer at work,” Shin says, chuckling to himself. 

Erina puts her arm around him so she’s hugging him from the side. “Shut up, Shin-kun…”

“That’s as close as I’ll get to an admission, right?”

She nuzzles into him so her words are a bit muffled. “She was flirting. And she called you by your first name. And you blushed!”

“Just because she flirted with me doesn’t mean I’m gonna run off with her,” Shin says. “I should ask the owner if we can get rid of nametags, though. They’re so awkward.”

Erina adds quietly, “You get flustered easily, so y’know… I get why you turned so red.”

“And you know I have to be friendly to customers.”

“You’re not a salesman.”

“I’m a cashier. People don’t want jerks handling their money.” Shin turns a bit so his body can accommodate hers. “Maybe you should be my guard dog at the store.”

“I’m not gonna be a dog! I’m gonna be a bunny.”

“What can bunnies guard? Carrots?”

“Yes, and you’re my little carrot.” Erina does a tiny fake bite on his shoulder. “Wow, this carrot is so cold and weak…”

Shin playfully swats at her head. “You shut up.”

They’re quiet for a few more moments before Shin says, “You know I wouldn’t leave you, right?”

“Duh,” Erina says, like she was sure the whole time. But it fills her with warmth to hear him say it out loud.

On the weekend, Erina promised their neighbor they’d take their dog Shinnosuke for a walk since they were out of town. Shin didn’t have to work, either, so when Erina takes Shinnosuke out around the neighborhood, Shin goes too.

“Ah-ah-ah! Shinnosuke, don’t pull!” Erina gently scolds the golden retriever when he spots a bird chittering on a fence. She has to be the one to hold the leash, because if Shin’s walking him and the dog pulls, he’s basically gone. He’ll be flying through the air like a banner on a windy day. 

“You’re ruining this poor dog’s life,” Shin teases her.

She sticks out her tongue at him. “But I saved that bird’s life.”

After a while, Shin’s legs get tired, so they sit on a bench together, and Shinnosuke curls underneath the bench for a nap in the shade. Erina does a big stretch and feels any tenseness pleasantly unravel under the summer sun. “I wish I could just hang out in the sun naked, y’know?”

“...What?” asks Shin. “Why?”

“It's just nice and warm! Like a shower but without the water.”

“That would just be really humid.”

“Ugh, you just don't get it. It's not as romantic when you put it like that.”

“This is supposed to be romantic?”

“Not like the kissing kind! Like the aesthetic kind!”

Shin shakes his head. “You’re shameless, you know that?”

Erina playfully pokes him. “And you have no imagination.”

They chatter the morning away playfully together, entirely unaware of the person at the other end of the bench. The old woman from the crosswalk, who is watching them laugh and tease each other and pet their dog when he gets up from his nap.

Just like the old days, she thinks fondly. True love never changes.