I feel like the workers of the Ramen Shop Reigen goes to has their own perspective of Reigen’s story and his life.
Often when he was younger they’d see this strange lonely man come in every once in awhile to just eat some ramen cuz he obviously can’t afford anything else (sometimes he tries to bargain and lower the prices) but then one particular day he starts showing up with a kid, and as time goes on he begins bringing more children. Sometimes it varies from only 3 kids to 10 or even more kids at a time. Is he a baby sitter? Is he a teacher? A couch? He can’t possibly be the father of all those kids!
And just when they think the man couldn’t get any stranger he shows up with a new man, a bit intimidating at first glance but very kind and soft. A striking different the loud man and his pack of feral children.
Sometimes they want to ask why these two men seem too take care all of Season Cities children but other times they find it pleasant that the lonely man they’d see eat ramen by himself at 11 p.m. now has a strange large family.
ahhh, can we have some happy but angsty serirei hehe
sorry this took so long!! your prompt has been filled here if you’d like to check it out! hopefully you like the idea, i didn’t have very much to go off of so i just had fun with it :) if you like it, feel free to send me more ~ im always open for more prompts!!!
✔ just some stupid angst and then cute fluff as per requested
extras:
★ video game references
★ negativity/doubt
warnings:
✘ intoxication (without alcohol)
It’s a slow day at the office. Mob’s expected to come in soon. Serizawa and Reigen are waiting on him, sitting in their respective seats. Apart from the random bursts of typing Reigen partakes in every couple of minutes, it’s quiet. Too quiet.
“What’s up?” Reigen finally breaks the silence. He’s been wondering for some time why Serizawa seems so invested in his phone this morning, especially since he’s texting like nobody’s business. Reigen’s almost envious Serizawa has something to do and he doesn’t. “Why are you using that thing so much?”
Serizawa lifts his head, eyebrows raised. He moves to put his phone down on Mob’s desk and folds his hands in his lap. “Does it bother you, Reigen-san?”
Reigen jerks upright, cheeks going pink. He wasn’t expecting Serizawa to abandon his phone right away, let alone to give him his full attention. Truthfully, he should have, considering they’re new lovers and their fresh adoration for each other is still lingering in the air. It’s a sweet feeling, so sweet that Reigen often finds himself stuck between loving Serizawa and sweating buckets around him.
“Er, ah, of course not! You can do whatever you want. The next client isn’t scheduled to come in for another hour anyway.” He waves his hand in the air, dropping his gaze back to his computer screen as if something interesting is happening. In reality, his laptop isn’t even on anymore.
“Can I?” Serizawa smiles, standing up from his seat. He’s made a point to abandon his phone for the time being. “Or does someone want me to pay attention to him?”
It’s ridiculous how fast the tables have turned since they started dating. Serizawa often gives himself liberties when it comes to his powers and being able to sense exactly when Reigen’s aura spikes or dissipates. It makes it easier to know when he’s going too far, or when he’s pushing his boyfriend’s buttons just right.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” There it is. Reigen’s playful denial. The one that always has him holding back a smile Serizawa desperately wants to see.
“Reigen,” Serizawa tilts his head and steps closer, close enough to almost catch a glimpse of Reigen’s screen. That is, if he hadn’t moved to slam it shut so quickly. “You don’t have to be jealous, you know.”
There it is. The emotion he’d been sensing since the moment he picked up his phone and started texting.
“I’m not,” says Reigen, defensively. He’s not aware that his response proves the accuracy of Serizawa’s aura reading.
“Alright, then.” Serizawa looks to the door to check if anyone is about to open it. When he doesn’t sense a soul, he leans down to capture Reigen’s lips in a chaste kiss; his attempt at cheering Reigen up.
The kiss is returned just as it’s given, the gesture successfully calming Reigen's hostility. It’s warm and soft and Serizawa tastes a hint of strawberry lip balm on his boyfriend’s lips.
"I'm not jealous," Reigen still murmurs into the kiss.
"Mhm." Serizawa doesn't believe a word he says.
When the kiss ends and they pull apart, Serizawa takes advantage of Reigen’s full attention. “So, I met a friend yesterday during my commute here,” he starts, buzzing. “We started talking about video games, of all things. Right now, he’s just telling me about a local that’s happening soon.”
“A local?” Reigen tilts his head in confusion.
“Yeah!” When Serizawa realizes he might be getting a bit too excited, he lowers his voice. “It’s a competition for video games and stuff.”
Then, with a slight fidget of his hands and tint of pink to his cheeks, he explains, “I’ve never really had a friend before, Reigen-san. Especially not one who likes video games like I do.”
Reigen watches his tall boyfriend from his place in his swivel chair. Serizawa looks happy and proud of himself and even a little nervous to admit it. He has a twinkle in his eye that Reigen can’t dismiss. It’s wholesome and pure and he wants to support him in every way he can. He knows he’s only recently reintegrated himself into society after a long period of isolation, after all.
This is good for him.
“That’s good, Serizawa,” he finally says.
At the praise, Serizawa is outright beaming. Though they spend the rest of the day working through clients, his smile doesn't waver one bit.
.
“We’re training after work today.”
“Is that so?” Reigen’s sorting the money they’ve made after a long day of seeing clients. He splits it up into three piles: one for Mob, one for Serizawa, and then his to keep for the office. “So, you’re not going out for ramen with Mob and I?”
Serizawa’s smile fades and it’s one of the saddest things Reigen’s ever seen. As if he’s kicked a puppy. The larger man’s gaze bounces off the walls and he fidgets with his hands.
“I mean, it’s oka—” Reigen starts, guiltily.
“No, I completely forgot—”
“It’s okay, Serizawa,” Reigen presses, shooting him a smile. He reaches over his desk with an upturned palm, inviting. Serizawa puts his larger hand in it and squeezes.
“Are you sure?”
“I’m positive. You do have a tournament coming up, don’t you? You’ll need all the practice you can get.”
There it is again: Serizawa’s large grin. It’s bright and happy and stretches so wide that it wrinkles the corners of his eyes. Reigen wishes he was the one behind it all, but he knows Serizawa’s only glad because he gets to spend time with that guy who plays video games, something that Reigen doesn’t know the first thing about.
That evening, Reigen gives Mob all his Chashu pork.
.
“You shouldn’t do it,” says Dimple from his spot floating near Reigen’s shoulder. He’s been more like a conscience than a coworker lately, and Reigen isn’t a fan of it.
“Yeah, yeah, I just wanna have a peek. It’s no big deal.” This is what Reigen has convinced himself since hatching his foolproof plan. From his spot hiding behind a bush on the dirty sidewalk, he’s fully convinced that he’s in the right.
“But it is a big deal.” Dimple puts his hands on his nonexistent hips, floating in front of Reigen’s face. After cleaning up the office and making sure there were no clients for the next couple of hours, he headed out to run some errands. When Dimple had waited for him to come back only to realize that he wasn’t, he left to search for him. Apparently, Reigen wasn’t running errands at all—unless one of his errands includes spying on his boyfriend.
“Don’t you trust Serizawa at all?”
“Of course I do,” Reigen snaps. “I just want to see who this guy is. Apparently, they’re out for coffee and he’s stopping by the office right after. His shift hasn’t started yet and I have no clients. This is the perfect time to do this. It’s like the universe is speaking to me, Dimple.”
Dimple sighs, “Suit yourself.” Then he disappears into stealth-mode. He’s learned that Reigen can be a lot and with the lack of psychic power he now has, there’s only so much he can handle.
Reigen looks around from where he’s crouching. He’s not particularly sure where Serizawa is going out for coffee, because he never mentioned an actual cafe's name, but he’s almost certain it’s this one. It’s the closest to the office and has a name for itself. He’s sure he’s picked the perfect spot across the street where he won’t get caught.
“What are you doing?”
Reigen nearly astral projects from his body, yelping. He falls back and scrambles to sit up, then glances over his shoulder tensely. “H-Hey! Don’t scare me like that!” He slaps a hand against his chest, feeling his heart beating fast. “I thought you were… someone else.”
“You mean the person you’re spying on?” Teru rests his hands on his hips knowingly.
“I’m not—!”
“Save it, Reigen-sensei. I’ve been in too many relationships to know what this is. You can consider yourself lucky I’m here to help, actually.” Teru invites himself to take a seat behind the bush next to Reigen, who’s beginning to sport pit stains from how profusely he’s sweating.
“What do you mean what this is?”
“This,” Teru gestures to Reigen’s less-than-ideal form. “Is pathetic. You don’t need to be doing this to feel better about your relationship, Reigen-sensei.”
“You don’t even know the half of it, kid,” says Reigen, defensively.
“I know it’s about Serizawa. I know your relationship is probably being threatened, so you’re losing trust in him and you’ve resorted to spying on him to find out what he’s up to when he’s not with you.”
Reigen nearly chokes on Teru’s suffocating accuracy.
“So, what’s up? Has Serizawa made a friend other than you?”
Reigen clears his throat and fixes his suit and tries to gather what little dignity he has left. “Yes, but before you say it, I’m not jealous. I’m just–”
“Good,” says Teru, bluntly.
“Good?”
“Because this is the first sign he’s losing interest in you.”
Teru’s words hit Reigen in the chest like an arrow through the heart. “Really?”
“I know it sounds terrible, but I care about you, Reigen-sensei. I want you to be happy. And I’ve seen this happen more times than I can count. You’re going to have to accept it and move on. I’m sure someday you’ll find the one.”
Reigen doesn’t want to keep listening but he finds it hard to stop. Teru’s advice is just too luring. His eyes are blown wide, not believing his crappy luck.
“Let me tell you, one time there was this girl, she was a year older than me… Or was it younger than me… Sorry, this was a few months ago so my memory is a bit off. Anyway, we had this on-and-off thing going because…”
Reigen zones out fast,s lost in his own thoughts. The fact that Serizawa really might be falling for someone else. That this might be a red flag, one of many, that he shouldn’t take lightly.
“… And then she met Edano! I introduced her because we were supposed to hang out with friends that day, so I brought her along to meet them all. At first, I didn’t realize what was going on…”
The one most stable thing in his life, the one thing he’s always been so sure about and never doubted.
“… And so eventually I said fuck it and I totally broke up with her. She wasn’t worth it and Edano had eyes for her too anyway. And then afterwards…”
Reigen stands up and begins speed walking towards the office before Teru can stop him. He’s in some sort of trance and doesn’t hear the middle schooler calling out for him as the gap grows bigger between them.
He’s going to lose Serizawa if he doesn’t do something about it.
.
Step 1: Find out details about the video game tournament
Reigen doesn’t know much about video games so when he asks Serizawa for more information, he’s blown into a world of unfamiliarities. Apparently, it’s a Smash Brothers tournament that’s happening in a downtown theatre. Spots are limited, so Reigen signs up as soon as Serizawa leaves the office that evening. He fills in his name and contact information before getting stuck figuring out what his ‘main’ is.
“So it’s just the character I use most when I play?” Reigen’s alone in his office, talking to himself. It’s dark and the only source of light is his laptop screen. He looks up a list of the characters and flips through them. There are so many, all with varying abilities and costumes. Some are animals, some are humans, some are things he can’t even begin to understand. His eyes rapidly bounce from one character to another. He dismisses most because he doesn’t recognize them. One he does recognize, though, is a little yellow fellow he remembers from his youth.
“Pikachu,” says Reigen, exhausted. “Pikachu will be my main.”
.
Step 2: Buy the video game
Reigen fails to realize that he doesn’t just need the game, but the console as well. When he walks into the electronics store and comes out with a bill of over 39000 yen, he definitely doesn’t cry. Not one bit.
.
Step 3: Practice, practice, practice
Reigen stays up for several nights in a row practicing his Smash Brothers skills. At first it’s hard to understand the controls, but after a while, he develops his own strategy: button mashing. It works wonders, especially since he doesn’t know what most of the buttons do and randomly ends up summoning a special move of some sort at the best, or worst, times. In fact, he wins three to five out of the thirty matches he makes himself play every night, and he thinks that’s pretty good for a beginner.
It’s definitely worth the bags under his eyes and the office naps he has to take to make up for it.
“Did you not sleep again?” Serizawa eventually grows a habit of asking the same question and offering to take care of the clients for the day so that Reigen doesn’t have to, but Reigen isn’t a quitter and he never complies.
The conversation usually starts off as a small argument, escalates to a contest of who loves the other more, then dissipates when they give each other apology kisses before the first client arrives. It’s a routine that makes Reigen even more unsure of himself, but he brushes the doubt off in favour of starting the day. If Serizawa leaves him, he’ll just have to deal with it.
If Serizawa leaves him, he’ll just go back to being alone again. It wouldn’t be any different from how he’s lived his life so far. It wouldn’t be any different.
But that’s why he has to win this thing, to stop that from happening.
.
The day of the competition comes fast. Reigen surprises Serizawa by asking to commute with him, then breaks the news to him on the bus ride there.
“I’m competing, too,” he says, proudly. “I’ve been practicing.”
Serizawa raises his eyebrows, looking at Reigen in disbelief. Then, his cheeks start turn pink and he smiles wide. He even starts laughing.
Wait, what’s so funny?
“What?”
“You’re adorable,” replies Serizawa, still shaking with laughter.
“Yeah.” Reigen crosses his arms over his chest, trying hard to suppress his own smile. “We’ll see how adorable I am when I win and you lose.”
“Oh?” Serizawa stops laughing to raise his eyebrows. “Are you trying to impress me?”
Reigen knows that his boyfriend can sense his aura, but he chooses to dismiss that fact. “Of course not.”
“So, you’re not competing just so you can win and I can see how good you are at Smash?”
“Definitely not.”
“That’s not what you just implied?”
“Nope.”
“Well, can I have a kiss?”
“No—” Reigen pauses, then bumps shoulders with Serizawa. “Hey, you did that on purpose!”
Serizawa chuckles, unable to contain himself. “Sorry, sorry.”
But Reigen’s not upset. If anything, he’s happy to see Serizawa smiling. It’s been his top priority since they started dating, and he thinks it will be until the day he dies. He watches him with obvious adoration in his eyes.
They share a kiss on the bus, right before their stop, then rush off in anticipation for the competition.
.
Reigen loses.
He doesn’t just lose, though. If he just lost he wouldn’t be so sour about it. He loses and he gets last place out of fifty players. It shell-shocks him so much he shamefully shuffles out the door the moment the winners are announced.
Serizawa ends up in the top ten at a whopping ninth place. He stays behind after the awards are given out to talk to the other players and ask them about their strategies. When he’s finished, he looks around the still-crowded cinema for Reigen, but he’s nowhere to be seen. Had he left without him? They hadn’t planned to commute home together anyway, so he’s not upset. If anything, he’s concerned.
He decides to send him a text: ‘Hey, I’m grabbing food with a couple of people. My dudebro has a flight tomorrow so we’re wishing him goodbye.”
Reigen reads the message and doesn’t respond.
.
“I knew I’d find you here.”
Later that night, when Serizawa still hasn’t heard from Reigen, he searches for him and inevitably finds himself at Happy Trails bar, AKA his boyfriend’s favourite place to grab a drink. Just as he thought, he finds Reigen propped up on a barstool with a lemon sour in his grasp.
“Yeah, well.” Reigen doesn’t really know what to say. His drink isn’t alcoholic, but he feels an unfamiliar bitterness seeping into his mood anyway.
Serizawa approaches, rounds Reigen and grabs the seat next to him. He shakes his head when he’s offered a drink by the bartender, never having been one for alcohol.
“What’s the matter?” Serizawa tilts his head and turns his attention to Reigen, trying to meet his gaze. But Reigen won’t let him.
Instead, he idly watches the ice cubes dance in his drink. “Aren’t you supposed to be with your dudebro?” The jealousy overflows from every word that leaves Reigen’s mouth, spilling all over his question. It would have been funny if Serizawa didn’t actually care for Reigen and want the best for him. Seeing him tipsy and sad breaks his heart.
“Actually, my dudebro is going back to America tomorrow,” says Serizawa, matter-of-factly. “He was only visiting for the competition.”
Reigen glances to the side at Serizawa. “Oh.” He visibly deflates, guilt rushing through him to compliment his jealousy. The fact that Serizawa’s new friend is leaving makes him feel even worse. Why’s he so upset about someone temporary?
“But we’re keeping in touch through Discord and stuff.”
“Oh,” Reigen says again. He suddenly doesn’t feel so guilty anymore.
“Hey, tell me what’s the matter.” Serizawa moves his hand to place it over his boyfriend’s. It’s enough to get Reigen to look at him and catch the concern in his gaze. If he didn’t care, Reigen thinks, then he wouldn’t have come here.
“Wouldn’t it make you happier to be with someone who has similar interests to you?”
That’s it. It’s finally out there for both Serizawa and Reigen to ponder over together rather than apart. The truth is, Serizawa’s thought about it before. He’s thought about what his life would be like if Reigen was a gamer. If they were able to go back to his apartment every night and fall asleep playing Smash Brothers or stay up late for the latest Splatfest. But every time he thinks about it, he realizes that nothing would change. Either way, he’d still love Reigen as much as he always has.
“But we do have similar interests,” Serizawa says, thoughtfully. He scratches his chin with his free hand. “We have the office, we have Mob and his friends.”
Then, with a small smirk, he adds: “We’re both psychic.”
Reigen snorts, finally cracking a smile. “I guess we are, aren’t we?”
Serizawa nods his head, smiling too. They both sit there for a moment, welcoming the silence that insists on falling between them. It’s not awkward or tense; it hugs them like a good friend.
“We don’t—”
“I’m sorry—”
Serizawa turns into an apologetic mess as Reigen laughs. “It’s okay, you go.”
“No, no, you first.”
Reigen laughs again and Serizawa, though he’s sweating profusely at the mishap, can’t help but smile. His boyfriend’s seemed so tense the past week, it’s nice to see him laugh a little.
“I just want to apologize for being so stubborn about this. You’re allowed to have friends, Serizawa. I shouldn’t have let it affect me as much as it did.” Reigen fidgets with his fingers, which are now cold from the drink. Serizawa only ever sees him so nervous when he’s being truthfully genuine, which on its own is a rare occurrence.
He feels his heart tug in his chest. Reigen always knows what to say to make him feel stable again, to make him feel like the world isn’t crumbling at his feet. “Thank you,” he says, grateful. “You know I love you, right?”
Reigen swallows hard. The L world is still heavy between them. It doesn’t feel natural, it’s not easy to say, but that’s only because they’re both so sure about it. The sureness behind the word is suffocating, but Reigen reaches for the chance to grasp it every chance he gets because he doesn’t want to lose that stability.
“I know. I love you, too,” he mumbles bashfully.
“And we don’t— Our interests don’t have to all be the same. I’ll still— You’re still my boyfriend even if they’re not.” Serizawa’s eyes are bouncing off the walls, avoiding any possibility of making eye contact. Reigen understands, but he doesn’t say anything until he’s sure Serizawa is finished so as not to jar him. Then he puts his free, cold hand on top of Serizawa’s, sandwiching it between his palms.
“Thanks, Katsuya.”
Serizawa beams, relieved that Reigen’s able to understand his mess of words. They take a moment to lovingly gaze into each other’s eyes, hearts warm and smiles wide. Reigen’s eyelashes flutter in a way that makes Serizawa blush hard before he’s hit with the cruel reality that Reigen’s not fluttering his eyelashes. He’s just trying to stay awake.
Thump!
Before Reigen’s head can fall into Serizawa’s lap, a psychic aura wraps around his upper body and cradles him carefully. The esper breathes a sigh of relief.
Hot take but like…. trans people like don’t have to disclose that they are trans if they don’t want to. Trans people can work with you, be friends with you, and yes, even flirt with you, and not have to tell you they are trans. Our existence doesn’t require a full disclosure agreement.
Not to sound like a 90s shallow prep, but how you dress can affect your self esteem, and putting energy into wearing things you actively like and projecting an ideal of yourself through fashion instead of seeing clothes as things you have to put on out of obligation helps.
It also can give you a sense of control over your appearance that you otherwise wouldn’t have lmao
this post is written in a humorous tone but this is the realest shit.
two years ago i wore baggy sweatpants and flip flops every day because i was depressed but then decided eh to hell with it and bought some black edgy emo clothes bc thats how i always wanted to dress but never got a chance to and it was only then that i realized that the sweatpants flip flops look was just keeping me in my depression funk. i didnt like the way i looked and i didnt identify with the clothes i was wearing and it only made me feel worse.
i then went through my entire wardrobe and got rid of everything that made me feel that way.
now i have multiple outfit possibilities requiring different levels of effort but on days where putting on clothes just seems like a project i just have to put on black jeans and a band t-shirt and i can still feel good about the way i look which is a really good way to start off my day.
i can not recommend this approach to clothing enough.
