Work Text:
(3rd Person PoV)
Frankly speaking, was Hoeru glad that he got fired from this job because his boss was a cheating bastard who was also a massive jerk to all of his workers?
Maybe but in the way that he got fired, well maybe not.
Backtrack here, Hoeru was working part time at a sweets stand with two other people. They were out going to other people and handing them flyers to buy the sweets while he stayed behind and watched over the stand.
It was…ok. No really, he was doing fine just selling sweets and being his usual unenthusiastic self about it although he did try to be more upbeat on occasion. Kinjiro gave him some advice (that he already heard a million times) about maybe he wouldn’t lose his jobs as fast as he did if he tried a little bit more of being upbeat.
“Fake it until you make it. I hear all about it from anyone I talked to,” Kinjiro told him. He was just so happy giving out this advice that Hoeru couldn’t say no.
So here he was, trying for a happy tone in his otherwise bored voice as he made it through a couple of hours at this job.
He would say new record but he worked longer at the butler cafe. Still, better than last week where he only lasted an hour until disaster struck.
Listen, he didn’t mean to throw an egg at the shoplifter but he really didn’t want things stolen as the boss was already frantic enough as that place commonly gets shoplifted. No one got hurt (besides the shoplifter) but he still got fired for “wasting an egg.”
Hoeru knew that maybe he’ll keep this job a lot longer. He should have known it was wishful thinking once two headaches came by.
First, the boss came and started to shout at Hoeru’s co-workers. Something about being too slow and not enough money coming in. Hoeru was just itching to throw something or maybe even bite him but he kept quiet…for now.
Sumino found this job for him and would be mad at him again if he got fired.
Speaking of Sumino, that was his second headache. He didn’t see her at first but as soon as the boss walked away from his co-workers, he saw her spying on him from behind a pillar with her phone out.
She had a picture in her other hand and kept glancing at it and at his boss. What did he do to get her attention? Hoeru thought, wondering who hired her to spy on his boss. What secrets could he possibly hide?
Well that wasn’t his business. He just works part time at that man’s sweets shop, he’s no detective like Sumino is. Unfortunately, life seems to hate him.
“Tohno!” His boss now noticed him and stomped over towards Hoeru. He muttered a curse under his breath before looking up at his boss.
“What did I do?” He asked and the boss slammed a piece of paper in front of him. “You’re new here so I’ll give you the scoop. We’re losing money as barely anyone wants sweets from here! A new shop from a town away is all the rage and I’m getting really pissed off! You better be selling those sweets or I’m going to fire all three of you!” He yelled.
“Hell no, you’re not firing me,” Hoeru crossed his arms and his boss swiped the paper up. “Then get to work selling!” The boss hissed and walked away with Hoeru thinking, what do you think I’ve been doing!
He sighed deeply, hoping that someone would come and buy sweets.
Well someone did but it was pretty unexpected.
“Give me a bag of caramels-wait Hoeru?” Sumino did a double take as she approached the stand, keeping an eye on the boss while trying to act casual and buying something off the sweets stand. What she didn’t expect was Hoeru to be working there specifically.
“Why are you surprised? You know that I applied for this job,” Hoeru told her. She scratched her chin, sheepishly.
“Yeah…I just wasn’t expecting to run into you while doing my job,” she admitted. “What are you on about this time?” Hoeru asked, crossing his arms.
“Funny story actually. Like an hour after I told you about this job, I got a call from a client to investigate her husband who may be potentially cheating on her. I did a quick background check and saw that he’s the boss of this sweets stand. I’d figure that I would investigate a day where you probably wouldn’t be working but I overshot it,” Sumino explained.
“What, you think I would get in the way of your detective work?” Hoeru asked but Sumino shushed him.
“Keep your voice down but you do tend to get fired a lot,” she told him. He rolled his eyes at this.
“Not this time I won’t,” he assured her.
“You better not. Do you know how long it took me to find you this job after you got fired from the last one?” Sumino huffed and poked his arm to emphasize her point.
“I won’t,” Hoeru grumbled and she smiled at this. “Good boy,” she teased, making him go slightly red.
“That’s worse than Rikuo calling me a puppy!” He stated. “You’re not beating the allegations though,” Sumino teased him.
“Oh piss off. Are you going to order something or are you just using this time to tease me?” Hoeru asked and Sumino nodded.
“Yes to both. Now I want a bag of caramels, a small one. I need to look casual,” she said and kept glancing in the direction where the boss went.
“Fine. Let’s see,” Hoeru said and went to grab a white paper bag to put the caramel sweets in.
Sumino then looked to her left to grab onto her purse to pay for it. As soon as she grabbed onto her wallet, in the corner of her eyes, she spotted the boss walk into the mall and she gripped onto her wallet.
“Crap! He’s out of sight, I have to chase after him or else I’ll lose my lead,” she said and raced off, accidentally knocking the bag out of Hoeru’s hands in her reckless pursuit.
“Hey wait! You haven’t paid! Sumino!” Hoeru called out and also did a reckless thing. He chased after her, ignoring the calls of his co-workers.
Sumino raced inside the mall and hid behind some pillars, keeping an eye on the boss as he entered a chocolate shop.
Weird. He owns a sweets stand so why would he enter there? She thought and took out her phone. She crept closer to the shop and peeked in through the window.
The boss appeared to be shopping and looking through different chocolate boxes shaped like hearts. He picked a big one up and examined it, looking through the options of chocolate.
He seemed to be satisfied and ringed up the cashier who raced up to his side. Sumino sneakily took a couple of pictures of this.
“Sumino, what the fuck?” Hoeru wheezed as he ran up to her, causing her to jump and squeak in surprise. She turned around in a hurry.
“H-Hoeru! What the heck are you doing?” She hissed. He held his hand out.
“You haven’t paid for those caramels so cough it up,” he told her and she stared at him in disbelief.
“Really? Out of all the times-,” she started but then the cashier from the chocolate shop could be heard saying, “thank you! Come again!”
“Yeah yeah,” the boss waved him off and both Sumino and Hoeru scrambled away so as to not get caught.
The boss paused and looked at the spot where the two were previously at. He then shook his head as if he was imagining it.
He then walked to a flower stand to pick out a bouquet.
Meanwhile, Sumino and Hoeru had dove into the bushes near the fountain that was near the entrance of the mall and peeked out to see what the boss was doing.
Sumino then took out her phone again and took a couple of more pictures while Hoeru buried his face in his hands.
“I’m so getting fired for this,” he muttered and Sumino glanced at him. “He’s not looking so you can leave now and pretend that you didn’t leave the stand,” she assured him.
Hoeru was about to thank her when the doors to the mall’s entrance opened and a beautiful woman walked in. She looked around, seemingly looking for someone when she spotted the boss.
“Oh good, you’re here!” She called out to him and the boss turned around. As soon as he did this, Sumino and Hoeru immediately ducked down.
“Ah, you’re here on time. Good, good. The restaurant should be around here,” the boss said in an almost loving tone.
A glint of excitement shined in Sumino’s eyes and she peeked out a little to see that the boss and the woman were chatting with each other and the boss gave her the chocolate box and the bouquet of flowers that he just received.
“Bingo. So he was cheating,” she whispered and held her phone to sneakily take a picture. Hoeru’s jaw dropped as he also watched the scene.
“That’s not his wife?” He whispered and she shook her head. “Nah. His wife is a little older than that woman and is a brunette. She has black hair and is most likely younger than him. A couple of years younger give or take, hard to tell,” she explained.
“Fuck,” he sighed. Sumino gave him a comforting pat with her free hand before lowering her phone.
“Ok I have enough evidence to show his wife that he was cheating…but what’s this restaurant that they’re talking about? Are they going on a date? Ohoho, that can be even more incriminating,” she snickered.
“Oh hell no. You got the evidence that you wanted and you still haven’t paid for the caramels. We’re leaving now,” Hoeru told her but she ignored him.
He must have forgotten that he was dealing with the Number One Meddler so her job isn’t fully over.
“They’re leaving, I have to follow them,” Sumino said and got out of the bushes. She crept behind them and kept her distance.
Honestly, Hoeru really should have left it there. The boss wasn’t looking at him so he could escape to the sweets stand and he really shouldn’t interfere with Sumino’s job. She probably has done this sort of thing before, being a high class detective and all.
However, he had a feeling that she would do something stupid. He probably couldn’t stop her from said stupid thing but at least he could try to be there to tell her ‘I told you so,’ and try to get her to pay for the caramels.
Against common sense, he got out of the bushes too and followed her.
They followed the happy couple to a very fancy restaurant, a place where Hoeru wouldn’t step foot in unless it’s to apply for a job and even then, a very slim chance of being hired. The couple walked in and unfortunately, there weren't any clear windows to peek through as they were covered by window blinds.
“Dammit, we need to go inside ourselves,” Sumino hissed. Hoeru hummed before the realization hit him.
“Wait, we?” Hoeru asked and she placed her hands on her hips. “Unless we’ve been speaking French, yes we. We’re going in there!” Sumino stated.
“But it just feels expensive,” Hoeru complained and she grabbed his arm. “No excuses, besides I’m a high class and luxurious detective. It’ll be no problem for me,” Sumino explained with a wink.
Hoeru grumbled but let Sumino take him to the restaurant.
“Table for two?” The waiter asked and Sumino nodded. “Come with me,” the waiter took two menus and guided them in.
Hoeru kept looking around to make sure that the boss wouldn’t look in their direction. He knows that if he were to be caught, he would be fired immediately on the spot.
The waiter led them to a table and they both sat across from each other. The waiter gave them the menus.
Hoeru took a glance at the prices and his eyes widened at it. “This is more money than I earn in a month,” he said.
“Don’t worry, I don’t think we’ll actually get anything,” Sumino said but she sounded a little absentminded as she looked around to see if she could spot the boss.
Hoeru set the menu down and as soon as he did, he heard laughter coming from behind Sumino and spotted the boss and the woman.
They were sitting in the booth behind them. They had just ordered food and were laughing at a joke that the boss made.
“And then wham! Right in the kisser, that worker knew not to mess with me and to do his actual job,” he explained and the woman giggled.
“I despise lazy people, you did the right thing by setting him in his place,” she said and traced a finger across the boss’ arm.
The boss chuckled before glancing at Hoeru, their eyes meeting. Hoeru immediately looked away and lifted the menu up.
“Isn’t that…just a minute, dove,” the boss said and got up from his seat. Hoeru peeked over at Sumino who was blissfully unaware of the danger that they both will be in.
“Psst! Sumino!” He called out and she looked over at him. “What?” She asked and he pointed behind her.
She turned around and immediately snapped back towards Hoeru. “Oh crap! What do we do?” She asked.
“You’re the one who wanted to follow them!” Hoeru growled before putting the menu up again to cover his face and Sumino stood up immediately to face the boss.
“Hey lady. Who’s the guy in front of you? He looks like one of my workers who should be working right now?” The boss asked, angrily.
“Uhhh…,” Sumino glanced at Hoeru before looking at the boss again. “No no. You’re mistaken. He’s umm…he’s my…my…my boyfriend! Yes, he and I have been meaning to go on a date for a long time and that’s why we’re here. As to why you think he looks like one of your workers…well, I guess he just has one of those faces. Those faces where they look like a person you know but is actually not,” she explained.
Boyfriend? That’s the excuse she came up with? Hoeru thought.
“Well if he really did look like him, I guess he wouldn’t mind if he were to lower the menu instead of hiding his face,” the boss said, his eyes narrowing.
“Yes, he would do that but he’s…very shy. It’s cute actually but please respect his boundaries for not showing his face to you,” Sumino said, hoping that he would leave them alone. Hoeru can’t believe she just called him cute, even unintentionally.
“I dunno. Why would he be out in public if he didn’t want to show his face?” The boss said as the waiter came by to drop off glasses of water.
“Is everything alright, miss?” He asked Sumino. Before she could reply, another waiter came bursting into the restaurant, arms full of plates with different kinds of food.
He went by their table and Hoeru nearly gagged at the smell of the food. He hadn’t really noticed until then but the restaurant didn’t really smell much of anything. Even with his enhanced sense of smell, Hoeru could only faintly smell the other food that the other customers were having.
Now he knows why.
The food coming in was so strong and he could even smell a stronger whiff coming from the kitchen. Oh why did this have to happen.
“Hey-,” the boss noticed him before Sumino grabbed the glass of water and splashed it on the boss’ face.
Hoeru nearly dropped the menu in surprise and the waiter took a step back, shocked.
“Hey what the hell?” The boss asked, wiping some of it off with his sleeve. The woman raced up to his side.
“Who do you think you are?! Why did you splash water onto my boyfriend’s face?” She snapped. Sumino said nothing but slowly raised her phone up. She took a picture and the boss lunged for her phone but she got out of the way immediately.
Sumino then grabbed Hoeru’s hand and they both bolted out of there. The woman helped the boss up as he fell onto the ground when he failed to grab Sumino’s phone and the two of them began to chase the other two.
“Yep! He definitely saw me, I’m fucked!” Hoeru noted as they ran past a group of middle schoolers who gave them a funny look.
“Less sulking and more running!” Sumino told him. Hoeru cursed under his breath but he didn’t disagree with her. After all, the other two were still chasing them.
They kept on running and avoided the other mall goers who were just chilling and minding their own business. The boss however, kept bumping into those mall goers and didn’t stop to apologize. The woman even stepped on a few and also didn’t apologize.
Eventually, Hoeru noticed a gap between two stores and pulled Sumino away with him to hide in there. He pressed his back against the wall and peeked out from the concrete wall. He also felt Sumino beside him and that she was following his example.
The boss and the woman stopped nearby but didn’t notice them. They looked around and the store to the left of where Sumino and Hoeru were hiding opened its doors and a whole group of high schoolers walked out, all them chatting about something or other and were all carrying plastic bags full of merchandise.
The boss and woman side stepped to avoid the high schoolers but had bumped into the escalators and fell into them. The escalators took them up to the second floor of the mall.
“TOHNO! IF YOU CAN HEAR ME, YOU’RE FIRED!” Hoeru could hear the boss screech and cursed under his breath again.
“Couldn’t even say it to my face, fucking coward,” he growled. He felt his hand being squeezed and remembered that he and Sumino had been holding hands this whole time since she grabbed his at the restaurant.
He looked over to her and she seemingly was staring at him before looking away at the store where the high schoolers came out of.
“How did you know that this was the place to hide?” She asked, in order to break the ice. “Used to work there. I got fired for a stupid reason, don’t ask, but I remember how busy it can get and how popular it was with high schoolers. I guess it was a gamble to hide here,” he replied.
“Hmm, I guess having a lot of work experience really helps out even if you do get fired from a lot of jobs,” Sumino noted.
“Yeah yeah. So did you get what you wanted? I didn’t get fired for nothing, did I?” Hoeru asked and Sumino gasped.
“Oh right! I need to send these pictures to his wife as proof that he was cheating on her. It would have been better if I had a video but pictures will do,” she said, letting go of his hand and typing furiously on her phone.
“Right,” Hoeru said and placed his hands in his pockets. There was now an awkward silence between them as Sumino finished up sending the proof to the boss’ wife.
“…”
“…”
“So…,” Hoeru broke the silence and Sumino looked at him a little too quickly. “I think I’m going to…go now,” he told her.
“Yeah…go do that. I still need to meet up with her and ya know, stuff,” Sumino said and Hoeru nodded. He walked out but kept on glancing back at Sumino who just leaned back even more on the wall.
(Later)
“So that’s how you got fired?” Rikuo asked as Hoeru was back at TegaSword village. Hoeru was sucking on a flower at the corner of the bar table.
“Yeah…lasted longer than I thought,” he explained and Kinjiro patted his shoulder. “It’s ok, Hoerucchi. I’m sure that there’s other jobs out there,” he assured him.
He merely shrugged and Ryugi merely rolled his eyes as he cleaned some plates. “Your rent is coming up so better hurry and find another job,” he told him.
“Yeah…if I could find one in time,” Hoeru grumbled.
“I could be of assistance…for a fee,” Mashiro spoke up and everyone did a double take at the table that he was sitting in like, ‘how did you get here?!’
Hoeru merely flipped him off. “Fuck off. Sumino is the one that helps me out with that and I still owe her for the last two jobs,” he explained.
“Speaking of Sumipoyo, where is she?” Kinjiro asked and Hoeru shrugged. “Said something about meeting up with the wife of the boss. I think she’s explaining what happened or whatever,” he explained.
“You didn’t leave her behind, did you?” Rikuo asked but Hoeru decided to ignore this. He then felt someone tap him on the shoulder and turning around, he saw that it was Aoi.
They made a funny face at each other as a greeting. Once they were done with that, Aoi pointed to the outside of the cafe.
“Your friend asked me to come get you,” he told him and Hoeru tilted his head. Aoi continued, “she looks like she wants to say something to go.” Rikuo and Kinjiro glanced at each other as Hoeru stood up.
He stepped out to see Sumino standing outside with a small, white paper bag. The bag smelled pretty sweet, almost like there was a dessert of some kind there. Cake maybe?
She held it up and bowed her head. “I’m sorry that you got fired because I dragged you along,” she said, taking Hoeru by surprise.
“Oh, that? Well it was only a matter of time that I would have gotten fired from that job with that kind of boss so it’s not your fault,” he assured her but she shook her head.
“Still, I feel bad. I wasn’t expecting you to get fired like that,” Sumino told him, looking up at him. He could see the paper bag shaking as her hands were trembling just enough to be noticeable.
“You’re fine, I don’t blame you at all. You were just doing your job,” Hoeru told her. Sumino held the bag a little bit higher towards him.
“I got you something as another way of saying sorry,” she said and Hoeru slowly took the bag. He looked inside and did a double take.
“A cake? Sumino-,” he started but Sumino placed a hand over his. “It’s the best thing I could think of. I hope that it’s ok,” she told him.
Whatever Hoeru wanted to say died in his mouth and he slowly nodded. He took out the cake to examine it. It was pretty small with white frosting and decorated with slices of strawberries around it. On top of the cake slices was a decoration of a grey frosting wolf.
“Thank you,” was all he could manage to say. Sumino smiled and removed her hand over his.
“So now what are you going to do?” She asked and Hoeru shrugged. “Ryugi just told me that rent is coming up soon and I need to find another job quickly. I’ll get to work immediately on filling my resume again,” he explained.
Sumino then took out her phone and scrolled through it. She then did a quick nod of satisfaction before turning it around to show Hoeru.
“There’s a library in need of some help. You’ll need to clean up the place after hours and organize the shelves but I think you can do it,” she explained.
“Huh? But I still owe you for the last two jobs and you already gave me this cake,” Hoeru pointed out.
“This one can be free of charge,” Sumino waved him off. He raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure? What’s the catch?” He asked.
“Look if you really want to pay me back for this, then take me on a date. End of this month, your treat,” Sumino replied, surprising him.
“Huuuh? A date?” Hoeru asked and she nodded. “No need to go fancy with it, it’ll just be the two of us. Don’t forget it, end of this month, kay?” Sumino asked and patted his arm, walking away.
“You sure recover quickly!” Hoeru called out to her but she just laughed. She turned around with a genuine smile and waved goodbye.
Hoeru stood there, watching her while still holding onto the cake. Rikuo and Kinjiro walked out of the cafe and stood beside him.
“Sooooo, you and Sumino?” Rikuo asked and Hoeru held up his pointer finger at him.
“Not a word or else I’m not sharing this cake,” he said. Kinjiro just patted his shoulder, looking very proud.