Rating: T for swearing
Pairing: Carlos/Akane/Junpei
Warnings: none, besides the swearing
Based on this OTPpromps post
contains VLR spoilers
AO3 link
It was just another day at Build-a-Bear™, Carlos giving a resigned sigh as he set up to open the store with his coworker, Akane. He’d taken the extra part time job for a bit of extra cash, and he liked being around kids, but it could be… tiring. Really tiring. Akane was significantly better at dealing with angry parents than him, but even she had her limits.
It was a pretty slow season at the mall for bear building, that fact clearly emphasized by their completely and utterly empty store. It was the middle of the day, kids had school… who on management had thought it was a good idea to bring the both of them in? Well, at the very least, they could talk to each other…
They were deep in a conversation about alien conspiracy theories (a topic Akane seemed to rather enjoy), when a man walked in. He looked about the same age as them, mid to late twenties, but… well, he looked like he was going to rob the place. He had disheveled brown hair and dark circles under his eyes, with all black clothes and a thick leather jacket.
Clearly, not the type of guy you’d expect to come in to meet you “fur-ever friend”.
His eyes scanned the room until they landed on Carlos and Akane, and he made a beeline for them. There seemed to be a permanent glare on the man’s face, and he continued to look around like he expected someone to catch him- were they actually going to get robbed? Why would a guy like this want to rob a Build-a-Bear™?
“You. Blond.” He pointed at Carlos, making him swallow a bit nervously. The man’s other hand was still shoved firmly in his jacket pocket, and Carlos was waiting for him to pull out a gun. “D’you… dammit. You guys still have those like, little white dogs?”
Carlos looked to Akane, the both of them blinking in shock and confusion.
“Uhm… yes, we do. Would you like me to show you where they are?”
“Yeah.”
The bin was very easy to find, and the man looked almost embarrassed by that fact. Carlos was about to say something, anything to alleviate this awkward atmosphere- when the man cut him off.
“This isn’t for me, by the way. So don’t fuckin’ judge me.”
“O-Oh, sir, of course I wasn’t-“
“I’m not a goddamned idiot, it’s plain on the both of your faces. I’m not the ‘cute stuffed animals’ type.”
“Eheha….ha….”
“It’s for my kid. His birthday’s next week, and he really wanted one of these. Now, are you gonna tell me what to do next, or do I gotta ask your coworker over there?”
“R-right. Of course.”
Carlos led the man through what to do, but he couldn’t help but he surprised. Despite his… coarse… attitude, it was clear that he cared about his kid. He even took the time to dig through the little fabric hearts until he found one that he liked enough, whispering something for a ‘wish’ that Carlos wasn’t able to overhear. He let the man go to pick out clothes for the dog, walking over to Akane with a surprised look still on his face.
“Kinda cute, isn’t he?”
“Wh-what?!”
“Just saying.”
“Akane… he’s got a kid, he’s probably-“
“He’s not mine, actually.” The man set the dog down on the counter, placing a set of robot-themed clothes beside it. “I adopted him when he was a baby.”
Again Carlos found himself blinking in surprise, but Akane only nudged him with her elbow.
“That’s really admirable of you, sir.”
“Junpei.” There was a hint of a blush on his face, and he attempted to hide it by looking down at his wallet. It was… cute. “Junpei Tenmyouji. Don’t call me sir, it’s weird.”
“Alright then, Junpei!” Akane winked, pointing to her and Carlos’s name tags. “I’m sure you could figure it out, but I’m Akane, and he’s Carlos.”
“Y-yep.”
“Not gonna say anything more than that, Carlos? Really?”
He was blushing too now, eyes going back and forth between Akane and Junpei. What could he possibly say?! As if sensing his hesitation, Akane swooped in for the save.
“You know, sometimes Carlos and I hang out after we’re off work, and we’re only in for the morning today. So long as you don’t have to go anywhere, would you want to meet up for coffee?”
Junpei wouldn’t look her in the eye, but he did nod in agreement. His face looked as red as Carlos’s felt, and he seemed fidgety…
“Great! Let’s meet up at one, at the shop here in the mall. That sound good for you?”
“Y-yeah…”
“Alright then, it’s a date.”
“!!!”
“Not a date, Carlos. Just, like, a date on a calendar.” She laughed, before giving him and Junpei both a sly grin. “Unless you want it to be a date date…”
Neither of them responded to that- eventually Junpei just squeaked a quick thank-you, practically sprinting from the store while Carlos watched him with a blush on his face.
“Well, I bet you can’t wait for break now, huh Carlos?”
He didn’t respond- he was too caught up in wondering just what more could possibly happen.
Well, at least this was a good way to make a day interesting…
