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“Teru-kun, how do you court someone?”
Teru spat out the gulp of soda he’d just taken. Mob, who was seated across from him, passed him a wad of napkins without so much as a blink.
"You okay?" Mob asked.
Teru dismissed his concern with a wave, trying not to choke on nothing.
This was supposed to be a normal hangout between the two of them, something long overdue after Teru began his student-teaching assignment and the barrage of group projects Mob’s professors had thrown at him. They were seated across from each other at a bigger, busy cafe at the edge of Mob’s university campus. They were about halfway through a shared plate of waffles and a conversation about Teru’s students when Mob dropped that bomb.
It was as unexpected as it was sudden. Despite Teru's offerings to pair Mob with some acquaintances early in their university careers, Mob had never shown any interest in dating, or really in other people in general.
"I have you, Ritsu, Shishou, and all of our other friends," Mob had told him once during one of their calls. "Why would I need to date?"
Things had made sense back then. Some time after Tsubomi's integration into their friend group in high school, she'd mentioned considering the possibility of herself being aromantic, a feeling that'd only grown stronger as they all grew up. Once Mob had brushed off Teru's attempts to set him up with someone, Teru had just assumed Mob was something like Tsubomi. Maybe not quite, considering his giant crush on her way back when, but something like it.
So really, Mob asking Teru how to ask someone out made no sense. He was justified in being surprised.
"You wanna know how to ask someone out?" Teru said once his coughing fit passed.
Mob frowned and shook his head, the slightest bit of pink dusting his face. "No, I don't… feel like I'm ready for that yet. So, can you tell me how to court someone until I'm ready to ask?"
"You mean how to flirt with someone?
Mob's face flushed at that, and he fidgeted uncomfortably in his seat. "Court."
Teru snorted at that. "What, flirt is too vulgar for you?”
“Yes!” Mob squeaked. He made another squeaky noise and hid his face behind his hands. In front of him, his plastic cutlery shook.
Ah. Maybe Teru should stop teasing him so much. As adorable and rare as a flustered Mob was, he didn’t want this building to explode.
“Okay, okay, fine,” Teru said, biting back a laugh. “What do you want to know about courting someone?”
Mob still looked uncomfortable, but he’d stopped hiding his face and set the cutlery down. “Um… anything would help. I’ve never… courted anyone before.”
“Tsubomi-san?”
“That was seven years ago. And looking back, I never tried to show my interest in her. The most I’ve ever done is that bouquet when I tried confessing to her.”
Teru hummed thoughtfully.
Well, knowing Mob, he’d never gone out of his comfort zone or made any sort of bold move. But he’d grown up since middle school: he could talk to his crush without avoiding eye contact and stuttering to the point of incoherency. Teru searched through his mind. What course of action would help Mob most?
Ah.
“I have your answer,” Teru said. He grinned and kicked Mob underneath the table.
Mob’s face remained flat. The kick hadn’t been enough to hurt him, after all. “What was that for?”
“A little physical contact goes a long way,” Teru said. “You know, like a nudge of the shoulder or elbowing their side. Maybe a little hand-holding if you’re feeling brave.”
Then Mob stiffened. “Hand-holding? Holding hands with…?”
Mob’s half of the waffle splattered onto the floor.
They both stared at the sorry state of the waffle.
“You okay, Shigeo-kun?” Teru said.
Mob sighed in response.
A nudge of the shoulder. Elbowing his side. Hand… Hand-holding…
Mob flushed and considered shoving his face into the bowl of ramen in front of him. To the right of him, Ritsu shot him a concerned look. To the left of him, Reigen paid no attention.
Eating ramen with Reigen and Ritsu wasn’t an uncommon occurrence during weekends when school wasn’t busy. Mob would visit the office, Ritsu insisting on coming to watch over him when he wasn’t busy (though really, Mob suspected he just wanted the break from everything he was doing at university; Ritsu was busier than ever, after all), and Reigen would drag the two along on some job he’d underestimated. After the job, Reigen would take them out for their traditional bowl of ramen, and Ritsu would make a comment about how he wanted yakiniku instead.
This was comfortable. Mob, sitting between his two favorite people in the world—this was comfortable.
So why did he have to complicate everything by asking Teru that? These feelings weren’t new, after all. He could go his whole life keeping his mouth shut.
But… he’d already told Teru he was interested in someone. And he’d bothered Teru for advice. He was in too deep to back out now.
So Mob set aside the fireworks crackling in his stomach, took a deep breath, and reached out to put his hand over Reigen’s.
Reigen turned his attention away from his ramen and towards Mob, a considerable feat considering how much he loved food. He blinked. “Mob? Everything okay?”
Oh no. He hadn’t thought this far ahead.
“I’m okay,” Mob said, not feeling okay at all.
“... Oh, I get it,” Reigen said with a laugh.
Mob’s heart jumped to his throat. Had he been too obvious? Had Reigen noticed…?
“You want more chashu, don’t you?”
Reigen didn’t notice. He was an idiot. Mob didn’t know whether to be grateful for that or not.
“Here, I’ll order more for you,” Reigen said. He shook Mob’s hand off his to raise his arm, catching the attention of a waiter.
“That’s…”
Well, okay. It wasn’t like Mob would reject more chashu.
“Okay. Thank you, Shishou.”
Then on the other side of him, Ritsu said in a horrifyingly exasperated tone, “Nii-san…”
Mob turned towards his brother, pretending valiantly like nothing had happened. Still, despite his efforts, he could feel heat on his face. “Yes?”
Ritsu stared for a moment before shaking his head and returning his attention to his bowl of ramen. “Nothing.”
Mob frowned. But before he could initiate any line of questioning, Reigen began a ramble about how his own university days had gone, and Ritsu dispelled all the tension in his body with a scoff.
Things were normal. If Mob could save the world multiple times over when he was fourteen, he could pretend things were normal now.
Something about Ritsu’s brother seemed… off recently. But there was no time for Ritsu to even begin thinking about what it could be. He had an overloaded class schedule, student government duties, meetings with a mentor in his program… He supposed his only saving grace was Mob doing most of the chores in their shared apartment, but that was wrong. Ritsu may have been the younger brother, but that didn't absolve him of the responsibility of keeping their space clean.
Ugh. It was all a headache. When their father joked about Ritsu going gray early, Ritsu somehow didn't feel it was a joke anymore.
But when Mob hesitantly asked if Ritsu had time to hear him out over dinner one day, all of it went flying out the window and landed with an unceremonious crash.
"Of course," Ritsu said, already setting his chopsticks down. "What is it?"
Mob stuffed a spoonful of rice into his mouth in an obvious effort to bid more time for himself. But food could only take so long to eat. He paused after swallowing. "Ritsu, you do a lot of communication for the student government, right?"
Ritsu nodded. He did. One of his main responsibilities as a younger member of the team was communication, both for the students and for the school.
“I… I want to say something important to someone I care about,” Mob said, looking away. “How do you think I should tell them without embarrassing myself? Email?”
Well, Ritsu’s preferred form of communication was email…
Wait, what was the important thing Mob had to say to someone? It wasn’t school, was it? No, Mob never cared much about school, not enough to look this nervous about it. Was it something about family? Mob would’ve told him with no preamble; they were in the same family, after all. Then could it be…?
“Shige,” Ritsu breathed, “are you in love with someone?”
Mob stayed silent.
“Nii-san.”
“... Maybe,” Mob mumbled.
Mob hadn’t fallen in love since his crush on Tsubomi. How great was this person, to have caught his interest after years of nothing?
But Mob would tell him in due time. There was something more pressing to deal with first.
“You were going to confess your love over email?” Ritsu gasped.
Mob sank into himself, looking a lot like he wanted to sink into the floor. “No, no, not at all. They deserve better than that, I know. It’s just… if I can’t work up the courage, then I want to at least have some way of telling them.”
“Shouldn’t you try to confess before you come up with another plan?”
“I really don’t know if I’ll be able to. So, I want to plan ahead now.”
Well, that was fair. Ritsu had full faith his brother would be able to pluck up the courage, but that wasn’t the advice he needed right now. So, a form of communication that would convey Mob’s feelings safely without losing sincerity. That would be…
“Why don’t you write a letter?” Ritsu said. “Love letters are usually well-received.”
“A letter,” Mob echoed, frowning. Then the expression on his face eased, and he nodded. “That sounds like a good idea. Thanks, Ritsu.”
Okay. Advice given, and Mob seemed like he’d taken it well. Ritsu hadn’t failed as a little brother.
“No problem,” Ritsu said. He picked up his chopsticks, then paused. “It’s not Takane-san again, is it?”
Mob snorted. “That’d make things so much simpler.”
The library was hardly the most romantic place to write a love letter, but Mob would rather be fourteen again than give Ritsu any chance of seeing what he was writing. That was something he would never live down, no matter how much he knew Ritsu would never judge him over something like that.
So, here he was among a pack of other students. One student had a sea of math written on a whiteboard. Another had a stack of textbooks and a notebook in front of them. And here Mob was, with one sheet of paper, a pencil, and the distinct feeling he didn’t belong here.
Mob stared down at the blank page in front of him.
What was a love letter composed of? It started with a greeting, to be certain. He wrote that down. After that, he fumbled. Should he write everything he appreciated about Reigen? No, that would take up thousands of pages. What about the exact moment he knew he’d fallen in love with him? No, Mob didn’t know that either. It’d just become a fact of life one day. Maybe he should write about how much his life had changed since meeting him?
… Actually, that didn’t sound too bad.
Mob started writing whatever came to mind.
Time flew past. It was easy to forget about his presence in the world when he waded through a sea of memories. It was also easy to transition from Reigen’s importance to everything that made Mob fall in love with him. His kindness was the first thing Mob had noticed about him—always deadset on doing the right thing and helping others along the way. He was caring, gentle, diligent. He had a mind that could rival even the smartest people on this campus. He was self-sacrificing to a fault, to the point Mob worried he’d wake up one day and find that Reigen had given too much of him to everyone else. Of course he was greedy and lazy at times, but his shrewdness and selfishness was a part of him like everything else. Mob had known about that part of him for years, yet it didn’t make him love him any less—it just made him all the more human. And it didn’t help that even at thirty-five, Reigen still looked—
“Ah, Mob-kun! Hi!”
Mob slammed his hand over his pencil, knowing it’d go shooting off somewhere it shouldn’t if he didn’t. “Hi, Tsubomi-chan,” he squeaked.
“How are you?” Tsubomi said, walking to stand beside him. Her gaze flickered to the paper for a split second. “Oh, you’re writing to your shishou. Is that the same Shishou you’re always talking about?”
“I’m not always talking about—”
“It’s wonderful you two keep in contact in such a fun way,” she chirped. “That’s very sweet of you.”
Mob flipped the page over before she could read beyond the greeting, thanking every deity he could think of that she hadn’t read anything past that. Distantly, he registered his hair starting to float up.
“Yeah,” Mob said. Mostly because he didn’t know what else to say.
Tsubomi blinked at his floating hair but didn’t comment on it. Instead, she gestured towards her bloated schoolbag. “Well, if you’re done writing, would you like to study together? I have an exam coming up soon that I’ve been putting off.”
Ah. In all his determination to put his confession to paper, he’d failed to bring anything else.
Mob bowed his head. “Sorry, I was just about to leave. Good luck with your studies.”
Tsubomi dismissed the bow with a wave of her hand. “Ah, that’s fine. See you later, Mob-kun.”
Mob said his own goodbyes and walked out of the library, letter and pencil in hand.
He promptly tore the letter into pieces and threw it into a trash can.
How embarrassing.
Tsubomi’s favorite part of university was the anonymity.
She’d went to a university just far away enough from home that she’d found herself surrounded by an ocean of people, most of whom she’d see once and only once. She didn’t find herself compelled to cover her mouth when she ate, or pick bland outfits every day, or dampen her laughter when she was out in public. Miki and her other good friends certainly didn’t judge her for it, and anyone who did wouldn’t see her again anyway.
(Though attending her upper division classes was a different story. But she found she didn’t mind that as much; that was just what was expected in professional life, after all. And she did find she liked looking prim and proper when she wanted to be.)
That being said, it still mortified her to be caught off-guard. Just a little.
“Tsubomi-chan?” Mob called, voice devoid of any hint of surprise or judgement. “I didn’t expect to see you here.”
Tsubomi choked down the noodles she’d been halfway through swallowing as gracefully as she could. When she was certain it’d all gone down, she offered Mob a shaky smile and straightened her back. “Mob-kun! Good to see you. What’re you doing here?”
And it was—it was always good to see a friend. Tsubomi just wished he hadn’t found her devouring instant noodles outside the convenience store she’d just bought them in.
Mob tilted his head in the direction of a cafe right next to the convenience store. “I was about to get a parfait and study. But, um… I was meaning to ask you something, so I guess I should ask since I’ve run into you. Do you have time?”
Well, it wasn’t like she was doing anything else. And having a conversation with a friend over instant noodles and a parfait was probably nicer than eating alone.
“I have time,” Tsubomi said. “What did you want to ask? It's not embarrassing, is it?"
And here, Mob glanced around before pursing his lips and turning back to her. “It's… a little embarrassing. But I’ll buy you a parfait if you give me advice.”
A parfait? After eating instant noodles? She should really be watching her figure, but…
“Deal,” Tsubomi said. “Strawberry for me, please.”
Mob nodded before disappearing inside the cafe.
Some time later, after Tsubomi had finished her instant noodles and tossed the cup and chopsticks into the trash, Mob reappeared holding two parfaits, spoons, and a hazardous amount of napkins.
“Thanks!” Tsubomi chirped, taking the parfait and spoon. She eyed the napkins. “Is that a habit of yours?”
Mob scratched the back of his head, looking a bit sheepish as he took the across the table. “I eyeballed the amount and ended up grabbing too many, but I felt bad about touching something and putting it back, so… I took it all with me. I’ll just take the extra home.”
That made sense, she guessed. She dipped her spoon into the parfait. “What did you want my help with?”
Mob paused, presumably thinking of how to say what was in his head. “You got asked out a lot in middle school, right?”
“And high school.” Not so much anymore, thank god.
“I saw a lot of boys giving you flowers and chocolate during their confessions, but I also saw a lot who didn’t.” He paused again, furrowing his eyebrows. “This seems rude to ask.”
Tsubomi waved him onward. She’d known him long enough to know he never meant any harm.
“Okay. Um… Did you like the gifts they gave you?”
Well, she’d pondered that question long enough herself to know the answer right away. “I mean, the chocolates were always good. The flowers were pretty, even if they always died in a week. Someone tried to give me jewelry once, and I obviously had to reject that, even though I knew it was something I’d wear. But did I ever like the gifts? No.”
Mob didn’t seem surprised by that, but he didn’t seem like he expected it. “So… what kind of gift would you have liked?”
If Tsubomi were younger, she might’ve seen a confession coming and dodged it by shutting this conversation down right away. But this was Mob, and they were older now. Seven years was a long time. Long enough for…
Ah. Things made more sense now.
But to answer the question, Tsubomi hummed. “Something that isn’t on a top ten list of what to get for the girl you like. They were flowers and chocolate, Mob-kun. They weren’t even something specific to my tastes, just the regular chocolate on the middle shelf at the convenience store.” She paused. “Oh! But it can’t be too extravagant either. Like I said, the jewelry made me uncomfortable. So, for the person you want to confess to, you’re better off not bringing a gift at all. But if you’re really set on it, you should bring something small that you know they would really like.”
It took a moment for Mob’s brain to catch up with the conversation.
Tsubomi giggled at his widened eyes and pink ears. “What, was I not supposed to know? Sorry.”
“How’d—How’d you know?” Mob said. He shook his head in an effort to school his expression back to normal. It didn’t work. “No one told you, right?”
“No, no one told me. But really, Mob-kun. Asking me this out of the blue. I know it’s not for me, and you wouldn’t be so worried about it if you wanted to buy something for a friend. So who else but someone you want to ask out?”
“I don’t want to ask them out yet,” Mob mumbled. “Just… court them a little.”
“Court? You mean flirt?”
“I mean court.”
“Isn’t that the same thing?”
“I guess so, but to say I’m flirting with…” Mob sighed. He lifted his spoon, revealing its bent bowl. “Thanks for the advice, Tsubomi-chan. It helped, I’m just… embarrassed about it.”
Tsubomi pointed at his spoon. “Do you want another spoon?"
“... Yes, please."
For someone who gave gifts out like they were candy (and had gifted Mob candy on multiple occasions), Reigen sure was a hard person to buy gifts for.
Small and personal, something they’d like. That was the advice Tsubomi had given to him. It’d seemed so easy at the time—after all, who knew Reigen better than him?—but now that he was climbing the stairs to the office with his purchased gift in hand…
Yeah, no. This was a bad idea. He should’ve spent his first day of break doing literally anything else. But he’d already committed, and he’d be damned if this…
Actually, what even was this? It was a small white dish, about the size of his palm. The only thing differentiating it from other plates was the absurd clay cat attached right in the middle of it. At least, Mob thought it was a cat. It looked… vaguely cat-shaped. Though the eyes kind of reminded him of an alien if he thought about it too hard.
He shouldn’t think about it. He’d already paid for it; might as well give it to its rightful owner.
Mob turned the handle of the office door and pushed it open. “Shishou, I’m back.”
And Reigen stood behind his desk, his customer service smile melting into the genuine grin that always made Mob melt. “Mob! You’re back!”
“I’m back,” Mob repeated, falling naturally into the hug Reigen pulled him into. Unwilling to part so quickly from him, Mob sent a bit of energy towards the door, pushing it shut.
But all good things had to come to an end. Reigen parted from him, ruffling Mob’s hair as he pushed him away. “Jeez, you just get taller and taller. What’re they feeding you at university?”
“Cup noodles, mostly.”
“Who’s getting taller?” came a familiar voice.
A door swung open, and Tome stepped into the room, her face brightening upon seeing Mob.
“Mob-kun!” Tome called, immediately tossing an arm across his shoulders. “I didn’t know you were on break yet! You should’ve texted me or something.”
Mob smiled when Tome moved to ruffle his hair, just like Reigen had done. Was his hair just especially ruffle-able? “It’s my first day back. I wanted to surprise everyone.”
“Well, you’ll get to surprise everyone in a little bit,” Reigen said. “Serizawa’s coming in an hour, if you plan on staying that long. I don’t know where Dimple went, though, so you might not see him today.”
Dimple had accompanied him and Ritsu on the way back home. Mob assumed he was off to antagonize the rest of his friends. “I do.”
“In that case, are you hungry? I can get us some snacks from the next store over, if you wait a little bit. Oh, Tome-chan, flip the sign on the door. I doubt Mob wants to be dragged into a job on the first day of break.”
“I don’t mind,” Mob said quietly. The gift sat in his hands. “Actually, I had a gift for you, Shishou.”
“Oh, you mean that alien-looking thing you’ve been carrying?” Tome said.
Mob almost stumbled. He hadn’t even thought of the possibility of another person being in the room while he gave Reigen the gift. Granted, Tome was a good friend, so he didn’t mind the spectator, but…
“I guess so,” Mob said. “I thought it looked more like a cat.”
“What even is it? It looks like it’s a plate to eat off, but it has that alien in the middle? That's cool!"
His stomach knotted. He’d known this was a bad gift. Looking back, he should’ve just gotten something practical, like a teacup or tie. He’d just panicked in the moment, and he had a long history of being a bad gift-giver. Maybe this wouldn't have been a bad gift for Tome, but for Reigen?
Reigen gestured towards the door. “Tome-chan, the sign.”
“Oh, right.” With that, Tome gave Mob one last pat on the shoulder before leaving the office.
“Sorry,” Mob murmured, gaze on the floor. “Forget I said anything.”
The gift was snatched from his hands.
Mob looked up, only to see Reigen carefully inspecting the creature in the middle.
“Oh, I recognize this,” Reigen chirped. “This is an antique! Part of a set of five different animals, all sold when I was a little kid. This one is a cat. Ah, I remember having all the other four animals and only missing the cat. This is my childhood come true! Honestly, this is really valuable, Mob. Are you sure you don’t want to keep it?”
So he hadn’t just bought random stuff off the shelf? His blunder had been a happy accident?
Mob pushed the gift further into Reigen’s hands, nodding frantically. “If you really like it, then I want you to have it.”
“What? Come on, Mob, don’t spend money on me. If anything, I should be spending money on you. University life is tough.”
“No, it was for you, so you should keep it.”
Reigen shot him a grin and offered him a pat on the head. “Thanks, Mob. I really appreciate it.”
Mob let himself melt into the touch for just a moment. “You’re welcome, Shishou.”
Getting time to spend alone with Mob was a rare thing nowadays, a far cry from the loyal member of the Going Home Club Tome had met in middle school.
“Jeez, you’re popular these days, Mob-kun,” Tome said, dumping a giant packet of tea bags in the basket Mob carried. She gave it a cursory look-over to make sure it was the brand Reigen had wanted. She didn’t need to give him more reasons to dock her already terrible pay. “Do you really have that many people you need to catch up with? The competition is fierce out there.”
Mob averted his eyes, looking vaguely embarrassed. Also a far cry from the stone-faced kid she’d known back in middle school.
Tome laughed and nudged his shoulder. “Hey, I’m kidding. I’m just glad we get to talk at all. Sorry it had to be about work things, though.”
And that was true. Sometime after Serizawa had arrived and caught up with Mob, Reigen had sent Tome on a fetch quest for all the things he’d forgotten to stock up on for the office. Mob had insisted on tagging along for the journey, to which Reigen handed Mob a little more than the amount of yen they’d need for the shopping list. Because even after she spent the better part of the decade working at Spirits and Such, Reigen still didn’t trust her to not go overboard.
(Which, as much as she hated to admit it, was probably the correct decision. The alien art she’d commissioned from a friend and the alien T-shirt she’d bought were both impulse decisions that left her heart full but wallet empty.)
“I don’t mind,” Mob said. “I’m surprised to see you still working here.”
“Yeah, me too,” Tome said, rolling her eyes. She thought she would’ve quit for a better job by now, but at least Reigen finally paid her minimum wage now. And really, she didn’t find she wanted to leave. The office felt like a second home at this point. “But you know how Reigen-san is. That letter of recommendation from him when I finally do leave is gonna be legendary. And I have to go to grad school to get anything done in my field, so… best to just stay for now."
Ha. As if she didn’t plan on working here through her master’s degree.
Mob blinked blearily at that. “Oh, right, you’re in astronomy.”
“Is that really a surprise?”
“I never said it was.”
Tome scoffed and looked at the next thing on the list Reigen had texted her, complete with emojis. For an old man, he sure texted like a middle schooler. “Salt’s on this list.”
Mob looked thoughtful at that. “I never thought about Shishou running out of salt.”
“I know, right? It feels like he just produces it from nowhere.” She shrugged and set off toward a different aisle. “Welp, anything on the list goes in the basket. Onward, Mob-kun!”
“Actually…”
Tome turned, only to see Mob’s grip on the shopping basket had tightened, now holding the basket with two hands instead of one. “Yeah? Everything okay?”
Mob paused before taking a deep breath and relaxing his grip. “Is it okay if I ask you something while we walk?”
Tome made a sweeping gesture with her hand. At least Mob had the decency to ask before saying stupid shit. Inukawa, Kijibayashi, and Saruta still said the dumbest things out of nowhere on a daily basis. Sometimes, she wished she had telepathy just to see how their neurons connected to think of the things they said.
That probably wasn’t how telepathy worked. She’d have to bug Takenaka about it later.
“Okay,” Mob said. “Have you ever tried to court someone?”
Tome stumbled. It was only through Mob catching her with his powers that she didn’t bust her nose on the floor.
“Be careful,” Mob said as if he hadn’t just asked her the wildest thing she’d heard all year. “Floor’s slippery.”
Tome whirled around to him, eyes wide. “Have I ever flirted with someone?”
Mob winced, then sighed. “Yeah, I guess that’s what I’m saying.”
“Oh my god. Holy shit. This is amazing.” She set her hands on his shoulders. “Mob-kun. Who’d you fall in love with?”
And at that, the calm composure Mob had maintained through their trip shattered. His face reddened, and his mouth fell agape, lips moving like he wanted to talk but didn’t quite know what to say.
But even without words, Tome was right and she knew it. She was aware she wasn’t the first, second, or tenth choice to ask for romantic advice from. She was straightforward in all aspects of life, including her life dedication to the study of aliens. That may not have won her many dates over the past few years, but she was more than satisfied with her current crop of friends and her studies.
So for Mob to ask her if she’d ever flirted with someone…
Well, he must be really damn desperate. But he was also really damn unresponsive at this moment, so Tome gave him a good shake.
That seemed to bring Mob back to reality. “Ah, um… no one! No one that you know. That isn’t important. Can you please answer my question?”
As much as Tome wanted to dig her heels in and whine until she had her answer, she’d never heard Mob’s tone so clearly reek of wanting to be left alone. So for now, she reeled herself back in. Just barely.
“Flirting is kind of stupid to me,” Tome said. “Just say what you mean. It’s always better to be direct.”
Mob pursed his lips. “But… what if you can’t say it yet? What advice would you give to a friend who isn’t as outspoken as you?”
“You don’t have to pretend it’s for a friend, Mob-kun, I know it’s for you.”
“Just answer the question, please.”
Tome stopped to think. Mob had been about as subtle as a brick through a window about his crush on Tsubomi in middle school, but as far as actually interacting with her went… Well, Mob was just plain shyer than her. To help him most, he should…
“Ah, but just because you don’t have the courage to confess yet doesn’t mean you can’t still be direct,” Tome said. “How about some light complimenting?”
“Complimenting?” Mob echoed.
“Yeah! That way, you’re still telling the truth, but you’re not giving everything away.”
Mob paused, humming thoughtfully. The reservation in his expression faded. “That makes sense. Thank you, Tome-san.”
Tome nudged him in the side, raising an eyebrow suggestively with as much dramatic flair as she could fit onto her face. “So, you wanna tell me about your mystery pal?”
Mob’s expression didn’t shift. “No.”
“That’s fair.”
Compliments? Mob was sure he’d given plenty of those to Reigen throughout their time together, but now that he was sitting in the office at his old desk, filing through papers while Reigen typed away at his computer, he wasn’t so sure about that.
Mob snuck a glance, then averted his eyes to the papers in front of him. He could give a thousand compliments to Reigen. The question was which ones were worthy of saying out loud.
“Hey, Shigeo.”
Mob squeaked and dropped the papers on his desk. Raucous laughter identified the voice as Dimple’s.
“Did that really surprise you?” Dimple said, floating around to appear in front of Mob. “Come on, Shigeo, something small like that shouldn’t surprise you.”
“Hi, Dimple,” Mob murmured, scraping the papers back in place.
Reigen scoffed from his desk, stare still on the computer screen. “Hey, give him a break, Dimple. He’s just finished classes for the semester. Do you know how mind-numbing those are?”
“Says the dropout,” Dimple snorted.
“You never even went to university.”
“I’ve hung around Shigeo enough times to know what it’s like.”
“You still hang around university central as an evil spirit? How old are you again?"
Reigen and Dimple’s banter continued back and forth. They had a tendency to keep arguing through various topics like they were having a natural conversation. It was almost amazing how good of friends they were when all they did was argue. Not that either of them would admit it to Mob, no matter how many times he asked.
But both Reigen and Dimple were chatty, and putting them together was a quick way to waste the day. If Mob wanted to get his feelings across, he needed to say them now before they got too engrossed in their verbal sparring.
Mob looked up, only to see Reigen pointing a finger aggressively in Dimple’s space and Dimple grinning in his face. Ah, Dimple must’ve said something particularly inflammatory. That gave him even less time than he thought. Think, what was a compliment Reigen would appreciate?
Then Reigen fell back into his seat with crossed arms and a grin—probably delivered a good comeback—and Mob’s brain signed off for the day.
“Shishou!” Mob called. “Your smile is beautiful!”
A beat of silence passed. Reigen and Dimple had both stopped speaking and were now turned to stare at him with wide eyes.
But despite the obvious indicators he should cut his losses and shut up, the demon inside Mob that didn’t care for his embarrassment continued. “And—And I like hearing your voice. And you’re really good at talking. And I know you’re a messy eater, but I think that’s really ador—”
“Jeez, when'd you become such a flatterer? Thanks, but no need to butter me up, Mob,” Reigen said, voice a little louder than it had been. When had he walked closer to Mob? “Dimple didn’t get me that badly. His insults were kind of weak this time around. Step it up, Dimple.”
Instead of rising to the obvious bait, Dimple stared blankly. And somehow, that was what pulled Mob back to reality.
Mob felt heat rising to his face, his hair rising with it despite his efforts to push them back down.
Oh no. Oh no. Maybe Mob should never speak again.
But before Mob could get up to flee the country, Reigen planted a hand on Mob’s head and ruffled his hair, flattening it back down to his usual bowlcut. There was no hint of tension on his face, his posture as easy-going as ever. “No one has an appointment until later today. Mob, can you make us some tea?”
Mob stared forward blankly.
Why did he say that? He’d meant to say one little compliment, just vaguely-worded enough for him to pass it off as admiration. He might’ve let two slip if he was overwhelmed. But why did he say that? Especially the messy eater part—that was meant to stay locked in his brain forever. How had it come out like this—
“Mob!”
Mob blinked, reeling himself back into reality.
Reigen raised an eyebrow and gestured towards the room. “You mind putting everything down?”
Oh. Everything was floating.
“Sorry,” Mob squeaked before gently setting everything down. “I’ll just… I’ll make the tea.”
And while Mob searched around the cabinets for the tea they usually drank, he contemplated how much tea it would take for him to forget this ever happened.
“So,” Tome began, “you might be wondering why I’ve called you here today.”
“Did you really have to make us come here at eight in the morning?” Teru groaned.
“Shut it! You’re all busy. It was the only time that would work for all of us.”
Ritsu shot Teru a disbelieving look, wrinkling his nose. “Shige told me you have an eight AM class when we get back. You’re going to have to get used to this.”
Teru sighed.
“Are we even allowed in here?” Tsubomi said, warily glancing around her surroundings. “We’re not kids anymore. We could get in serious trouble for trespassing.”
Tome held her hand up and spun a key around her finger. “Nah, Reigen-san won’t care. We’re probably doing him a favor, actually, getting the office all warmed up for him.” Then she paused. “Dimple, are you seriously possessing someone for this? Why?”
Dimple shrugged from where he leaned against the wall. “Spirits don’t deal in stuff like this. I thought it’d be better to come in as human as possible.”
“That’s a spirit in there?” Tsubomi asked, blinking.
Dimple waved.
“Yes, yes, that’s normal,” Tome said. “Can we all focus now?”
Everyone reluctantly fell silent and turned their attention towards Tome.
It was, indeed, eight in the morning at Spirits and Such Consultation Office. Tome and Tsubomi sat on one couch while Teru and Ritsu sat across from them, and Dimple had opted to stand. The previous day, Tome had pulled Dimple aside and asked him to gather everyone for an urgent meeting, and Dimple—probably against his better judgement—followed suit (though Tome had opted to text Tsubomi herself. She probably wouldn’t have reacted well to a sudden guest in her room). And evidently, no one had anything better to do, because everyone showed up right after Tome unlocked the door to the office.
But that was then. This was now.
“So,” Tome said, eyes narrowing as her gaze flickered from person to person. “Does… Does anyone know what’s going on with Mob-kun’s love life? Because it seems to be getting worse and worse, and I don’t really know what’s going on anymore. I mean, he asked me for help, like, a week ago but—”
“He asked you for help?” Ritsu said. “I thought he’d only asked me.”
“No, no, he asked me, too,” Tsubomi said.
“Me three,” Teru said.
Dimple looked around the room, furrowing his eyebrows. “Wait, Shigeo talked to all of you but not to me?”
“Not everyone wants love advice from some ancient spirit,” Ritsu snorted.
“It’d probably be better than love advice from all of you!” Dimple huffed. Still, he sighed and relaxed his shoulders. “Somebody wanna fill me in?”
“Mob-kun’s in love with someone,” Tome said. Then she slammed a fist on the table. “And we’re gonna get to the bottom of it!”
Ritsu made a face. “Really? That’s a complete betrayal of his trust. If he didn’t tell any of us, that’s because he doesn’t want us to know.” He stood up from his seat, brushing off his jacket. “If that’s what you called me here for, then I want no part of it. I stand firmly on the side of Nii-san—”
“Little Brother, wait!” Teru called, hand shooting out to grab Ritsu’s wrist. “You saw how Shigeo-kun’s been for the past few days, right? Quiet? All desolate? Not like his usual self?”
Ritsu glared but stopped actively trying to walk away. “I guess.”
And that was true. They’d all noticed it to varying degrees. The dampening hope had been subtle at first, but Mob’s energy had taken a nosedive sometime over the past few days and he hadn’t told anyone why.
“So,” Teru continued, “that’s why we’re here. What if the reason he’s gone all quiet is because something went wrong with his crush? Can anyone else think of another reason?”
Nobody spoke.
“Yeah. Me neither. Either way, we’ve gotta either investigate this or rule it out. So, sit down with us and help us figure it out.”
Ritsu didn’t move.
“... Fine, I’ll treat you to yakiniku later when the shops open. You’re such a little brother, you know that?”
Ritsu sat back down without a complaint, biting back a laugh when Teru shot him a glare. “Okay, I’ll help. Does anyone have a guess so far?”
All eyes turned to Tsubomi.
Tsubomi shook her head.
All eyes fell on Teru.
Teru raised a defensive palm up. “Nah, he rejected me in high school. I’m pretty sure his feelings haven’t changed. Tome-san?”
“I don’t think it’s me either,” Tome said. “I told Mob-kun to give the person he likes compliments, but he hasn’t complimented me.”
“Well…” Ritsu frowned. “I don’t think Shige has to take our advice. I told him to write a letter, but I haven’t seen him write anything around our place.”
“Oh, I saw Mob-kun at the library writing a letter to his shishou a month ago,” Tsubomi said, face brightening at the memory. “I thought that was sweet. I never took him to be a letter-writing sort of person, though.”
Silence.
“That’s… That’s because he’s not,” Ritsu said.
“Does Shigeo even know how to send a letter?” Dimple asked. “If he was writing a letter to Reigen, it definitely didn’t get delivered. At least, I didn't see it."
Teru barked out a laugh and leaned back against the couch, arms folded behind his head. “Guys, what if Shigeo-kun’s crush is on Reigen-san?”
Everyone burst into laughter at that. It was silly, too implausible to be taken seriously. They all knew Mob had better sense than that. Because really? Reigen? Someone more than a decade older than him?
Then things started falling into place, and the laughter slowly stopped. The group stared at each other in grave silence.
“Okay, no, Shigeo has more sense than that. There has to be more to this,” Dimple said, shaking his head. “But he was telling Reigen all sorts of compliments the other day, just like you…”
Tome nodded. “Just like I told him to. Nobody told him to get a weird alien-bowl thing for a gift for Reigen-san, right?”
“.. Well, I didn’t tell him to do that,” Tsubomi said, “but I did suggest he give a small and personalized gift to the person he likes. And that letter I saw him writing may have been one he wrote from Ritsu-kun’s suggestion.”
Ritsu wrinkled his nose, looking vaguely haunted. “I… I wasn’t going to bring this up, but last time the three of us went out for dinner, Nii-san tried to grab Reigen-san’s hand. It was… weird.”
Teru cleared his throat. “That may or may not have been from me telling him to try flirting through physical affection.”
Silence fell over the group, everyone avoiding each other’s eyes.
This was the truth—they were sure of it. Mob hadn’t acted so strangely in front of anyone else, as far as they could recollect, and five observers were too many for his behavior to just be coincidence. And it was unnerving how quickly they’d cracked the case—barely ten minutes had passed. Had his crush been that obvious?
Then the keyhole jostled and the door swung open, revealing the man of the hour.
“Oh, you’re all here,” Mob said, taking a step inside. He pocketed the key in his hand. “Ritsu, Mom said you’d gone off somewhere this morning, and you weren’t answering your texts. Should I tell her you’re working today?”
Silence met him.
Then Tome yelled, “You’re in love with Reigen-san?”
Then the pack descended.
“Reigen-san?” Ritsu said. “Why would you pick Reigen-san? Even after all these years, he’s still so shady!”
Mob froze. “I didn’t pick—”
“Shigeo, come on! At least pick another esper,” Dimple sighed. “All that power, all that time in the Body Improvement Club, and you go for Reigen? The most normal, painfully average man alive?”
“He’s not—”
Tsubomi’s gaze flicked around the room before landing on Mob, brows furrowed and lips pursed. “I don’t get the impression this is a good idea. From what everyone’s told me, I think you could do much better. Didn’t you say he lied to you?”
“I know—”
“Tsubomi-san’s right,” Teru said. “This really isn’t a good idea, Shigeo-kun. I mean, Reigen-san? I’ve seen him pick his nose so many times.”
Then as everyone began speaking over each other, their voices melded into one incoherent buzz of sound, each indistinguishable from the other. Despite that, a couple words stuck out like a spike on a rose bush: fraud, liar, better, think—
The chaos was hard to wade through, even as a participant. It only made sense nobody noticed Mob’s eyes wobbling or his hands trembling or his hair floating higher and higher and higher—
“Stop being mean to Shishou!”
Everyone snapped silent at the shout, staring wide-eyed at the scene in front of them.
Mob sniffed and wiped his eyes dry. He didn’t seem to notice the table that’d begun to float that everyone else edged away from.
“How could you say all of that?” Mob croaked. He wiped at his eyes again before glaring. “Do you know how embarrassing it is for the most important people in your life to all come together to berate you for who you love? You all treat me like—like I’m stupid and I can’t make my own decisions, like I’m a kid and not an adult. And hearing everyone I like speak so poorly of the person I love—do you know how much that hurts? I want you all to get along. I thought you all got along.”
The outrage in the room dissipated into a simmering shame. The group exchanged a collective look, each hesitant to say the wrong thing.
But someone had to speak first. Tome took a deep breath and said, “You’re right. I’m sorry, Mob-kun. Truth is, I have a lot to be grateful to Reigen-san for. It’s easy to make fun of him, but I’ve learned a lot while working for him. You’re right, he’s not a bad person at all.”
“No, he’s still suspicious,” Ritsu said, crossing his arms. “He’s shady as hell, underpays his employees, built a business off lying to people. But…” He screwed his eyes shut like it caused him great pain to say this out loud. “He was actually the best influence for some of us when we were kids. Not me, but some of us. He’s always been a reliable adult, at least."
“I feel like you’re vaguely referencing me,” Teru said.
“I am. Tome-san told me you bought him a world’s best dad mug last year.”
“That was a joke.”
“Are you sure?” Tome said. “He cried. You cried. I had to wipe your sorry tears off the floor.”
“Hm. That doesn't sound like something that happened."
“I saw it! I’m pretty sure Dimple saw it, too.”
“I did,” Dimple said. He sighed. “And if I remember correctly, that was the same day he let me possess him for a while to taste this cheesecake Serizawa brought into the office.”
Mob stilled. “He what? Dimple—”
“Hey, calm down! Serizawa was there. And you know how loyal that guy is.”
“Yeah, that sounds like something he’d do,” Teru said with a nod. He let out an embarrassed laugh. “Guess I can’t deny it, huh? He did a lot for me when I was in middle school. Most of high school, too, really. I can’t believe Reigen-san was the most reliable adult in my life. Still is, to be honest.”
“I don’t know him as well as the others do, so I can’t speak on that front,” Tsubomi said. She bowed her head. “But I’m sorry we hurt you, Mob-kun. That wasn’t right of us. It’s just…” She bit her lip. “Do you see why we’re concerned about this? You called him your shishou a moment ago. Teru-kun considers him a father figure. He’s a lot older than you. Are you really sure about this?”
Mob shut his eyes. Everyone else waited.
“So… I’ve been in love with him for longer than I’ve let on to you,” Mob said. He opened his eyes. “I’ve been in love with Shishou since I was seventeen.”
Ritsu narrowed his eyes. “Nii-san—”
“I know. I didn’t say anything to anyone because I thought it was just hormones acting up. You know, all that stuff Dad says about puberty.”
Ritsu and Dimple nodded in understanding. Everyone else looked vaguely uncomfortable.
Mob pursed his lips, his gaze now lowered to the floor. “I thought it’d go away over time, but it never did. I gave it a month, then that became a year, and that became more years… And the feelings just kept getting stronger. I don’t think it’s a crush anymore. I’m in love with him.”
Everyone took a moment of silence, then nodded. That made sense.
“Actually, now that Tsubomi-san brought it up,” Teru said, sitting up from his position on the couch. “I’m curious. If you’re in love with him, why do you still call him your shishou? Isn’t that a little awkward?”
Mob huffed out a laugh at that, and his face flushed. “Just habit. And, um… Shishou actually did tell me to stop calling him that when I became an adult. But he told me to call him by his first name, so when I tried to say his name, I got so embarrassed that I ended up breaking the streetlamp above us. So I’ll stop one day, but this is what works for now.”
Tome clicked her tongue. “Jeez, Mob-kun.”
“What about him being a fraud?" Ritsu said. "Because we both know he is."
“I’ve known about that for a long time. I’ve seen the worst parts of him. He’s a different person now than he was all those years ago, but he still annoys me when he calls me in for a job on short notice or skimps out on the stupidest things. You know he didn’t have a rice cooker for the longest time? That was horrible to find out.” Then Mob fidgeted, fighting a smile off his face. “But he’s so kind. He cares about people so much, and he doesn’t let anyone sway him from decisions he makes. I think he’s the smartest person I’ve ever met, but he doesn’t go out of his way to show it off. He’s a hard worker. He sacrifices a lot for other people. Oh, and he’s a little cute when he—”
Ritsu interrupted with a gagging noise. “Nii-san, the point.”
“... Oh.” Mob paused, looking up in thought. Then he smiled. “I understand him, and he understands me. He accepted every part of me, even the part of me that hurt him. If he can accept that, then I can accept every part of him, too. He’s just human, like the rest of us.”
Silence met him.
Mob glanced from person to person. “Did I say something?”
Dimple grinned. “Hey, Reigen.”
Mob whirled around in a flash, sending all the books on the bookshelf flying onto the floor.
No one. No one was at the door.
Dimple burst out laughing, and the rest of the group followed.
“Dimple,” Mob called, his hair flying up and shadows falling over his face. He walked closer and closer to Dimple with an outstretched hand. His powers flickered at his fingertips. “Dimple, come here. I’m going to exorcise you.”
Dimple yelped and ran to the other side of the room, laughing nervously. “Come on, Shigeo, it was just a harmless little prank! Just some fun! You won’t really exorcise your old friend, will you?”
“Give me your last words and hope that wherever you’re going is better than this.”
“Nii-san, no!” Ritsu shot forward and locked Mob’s shoulders with his arms. “It was rude—and a little funny—but I can’t let you do something you’ll regret!”
Teru pulled Mob’s arm back, still laughing. “Shigeo-kun, that was such a great speech! Be sure to include some of that in your confession, okay?”
“Ah, love,” Tome sighed. She grinned and waved. “Go for it, Mob-kun! If anyone can sweep that old man off his feet, it’s you!”
Tsubomi clapped from her spot on the couch. “Here’s hoping, Mob-kun! He’d better treat you well!”
“He always has,” Mob said. His eyes narrowed. “Dimple, on the other hand…”
A knock on the door pulled them all out of the moment. Everyone turned, only to see—
“Good morning, everyone,” Reigen said, standing at the doorway.
Everyone stared back at him in silence. Mob’s hair fell flat against his head.
“So,” Reigen said. He gestured towards the general state of the room with a nonchalant hand motion that promised violence. “You have three seconds to get the office back in order. Starting… now.”
After fixing the room in about one second flat, Tome had bowed and apologized for using the office without permission, explaining that there weren’t many places open this early in the morning and she felt this was the only place she could spend time with her friends. Reigen had given her a hefty lecture on responsibility as a result and docked her pay for the next week before kicking everyone out of the office.
“I have a client scheduled to come in right now,” Reigen had said, shooing everyone out through the door. “If you’re not gonna help me, then stop loitering.”
Mob had turned, agreement to help him on the tip of his tongue, but Reigen had already shut the door before he could get the words out.
And apparently, Teru had promised Ritsu a yakiniku outing that he’d negotiated down to buying him his choice of pastry at a cafe. Everyone else in the group, hearing that, decided to join in.
So here they were now, the rowdy large group in an otherwise peaceful cafe.
“Nii-san, do you want anything from here?” Ritsu asked while they browsed through the packaged pastries on display.
Teru snorted. “What’s the point of me buying you something if you’re gonna buy something for your brother anyway?”
“It’s a matter of principle.”
“If it really matters that much,” Tsubomi said, “I don’t mind buying you something, Teru-kun.”
Teru sighed and echoed, “Thank you, but it’s a matter of principle.”
“Hey, who’s buying for me?” Dimple said.
Everything was normal. But something still felt… off. It wasn’t a spirit, a ghost, or anything otherworldly—it was a mundane flavor of oddness, like the feeling he’d forgotten his keys at home or left the grocery store without buying what he went for.
“I’m okay,” Mob said with a shrug. “I think I’ll get tea instead. Dimple, I’m still mad at you, but you can pick something out.”
“Tea sounds good,” Tome said, throwing her elbow in his shoulder and drowning out whatever Dimple had said in response to that. She craned her head up to look at the menu. “Ah, you think I should get Reigen-san something? He seemed pretty mad about the office.”
“He already docked your pay.”
“That’s true. I guess maybe I should get—”
Tome stopped.
Mob hesitated before turning to her. “Tome-san?”
“Man, this is weird,” Tome said, more muttering to herself than explaining anything to Mob. “I’m the secretary, so I know all the client bookings Reigen-san has. He does have one this morning, in about an hour.”
“That’s not unusual.”
“That’s not. But…” Tome pursed her lips and frowned. “He never opens without another person anymore. He always has either me, Dimple, or Serizawa-san in the office with him. I was supposed to open with him this morning, but he kicked me out. Serizawa-san doesn’t even come in today.”
Mob stopped.
That was… strange. Even if Reigen had truly been mad at Tome, he wouldn’t normally kick her out. He’d go the opposite way and put more hours on her schedule as a punishment. And if Reigen had lost his trust in her (which Mob doubted given how long they’d worked together), he would’ve asked Dimple to stay.
This was all weird. This wasn’t how Reigen normally behaved. Had something happened?
Come to think of it, Tome had lied back there about why they were in the office. Reigen surely knew she was lying, yet he'd accepted the lie at face value…
Tome brought him back to reality with a slap on the back.
“I’m sure it’s not a big deal,” Tome said. “Come on, group’s already at a table.”
Content to shove everything to the back of his mind, Mob followed.
Finally alone with himself, Reigen sighed and buried his face in his hands.
He’d just wanted to spend a little time cleaning up the office, washing the cups of tea he’d left behind from yesterday, organizing his files. He hadn’t expected to run into what he could only guess was an intervention, followed by Mob confessing his feelings about him to five other people.
Really, he should’ve left as soon as he heard people in the office. Called in sick, opened later, whatever. Tome would’ve understood. She could handle herself around clients.
But he’d stood frozen just a couple steps away from the open door, feeling his face steadily growing redder and redder as the conversation painfully dragged on for what felt like eons. God, what happened to his fast reflexes? He used to run away from feelings so quickly he could shove them down before he knew they were there. Now, they’d finally caught up with him and weren’t so willing to let go.
It hadn’t even been any new information either. He’d known what Mob had been up to since that awkward attempt to hold his hand at ramen a couple months back. Mob’s other attempts at flirting hadn’t gone unnoticed either; he was as subtle as an elephant.
But that wasn’t what scared him. If he really wanted to, he could pull Mob into his office right at this moment and have an adult conversation about feelings, about how he was flattered but didn’t return his feelings, about how Mob didn’t need to be embarrassed about what he was feeling and Reigen would understand if he needed time. It was just…
Reigen didn’t want to.
He’d laughed when Mob tried to hold his hand, admittedly. But that’d been the catalyst to him… thinking. Would it be so bad to have Mob hold his hand when they walked to restaurants together, or went on jobs together? Or to give and receive spontaneous adoring gifts? Every touch they shared was a reminder of how much Mob had grown, now taller and fitter than Reigen had ever been. Reigen hadn’t even liked that damn dish, but it still stayed in his bedroom because it was something Mob had given to him. It probably wasn’t a good sign that he’d scrambled to weave together the first story he could think of just so he didn’t have to see Mob look so defeated, and it was an even worse sign that he caught his breath hitching when Mob finally smiled. And it felt… nice to have someone give him those types of compliments? He’d always thought he was beyond feeling anything at those types of compliments, too untrusting to believe them with his heart. But suddenly when Mob said it, it felt true. It felt genuine. It felt warm. He hadn’t done anything like this in so long—was this what it was like to be in love?
And the worst part of it all was he’d never considered it before—never even looked at Mob that way until the brat tried to hold his hand while they were eating. It was never something that crossed his mind, and now it consumed him.
His traitorous mind had decided it wouldn’t be so bad, actually. It felt like the natural progression of their relationship: holding hands, cuddling, sharing a bed, everything that sounded elementary and childish—and still did. He’d just decided it was okay being elementary and childish with Mob and only Mob. After all, Mob had said it himself: he understood Mob, and Mob understood him. Mob was probably the only person Reigen trusted with his whole self.
The more rational part of his mind was all too aware of their age difference, their different stages in life. Being in a romantic relationship with Mob would be robbing him of the most crucial years of his life. What if Mob wanted someone to grow up with? What if he wanted kids one day? Reigen would never be able to provide him with that. And hell, even though he loved his business, was proud of his business, he had to admit the profits weren’t much to look at. Mob shouldn’t waste his time with him.
But four years… Mob had been in love with him for four years, and once Mob was set on something for that long, there was no changing his mind. And Reigen knew the most selfish part of him didn’t want Mob to change his mind.
Mob still had time to decide. He hadn’t given himself a definitive timeline on when he would confess, after all, and there was no way Reigen would ever make the first move himself. If he didn’t confess, maybe he would move onto someone else and Reigen would never need to give his answer.
But if he did confess…
Well. Reigen knew what his answer would be. If he was completely honest with himself, he’d say he’d always known. But until then…
Reigen flopped back in his chair and screamed into his hands.