Day 2 (Narukami, APLC)
Day 2 of @souyoweek2018 “Crossover AU or Soulmate AU”
Lawyer!Yu needs a secretary. Luckily for him, fraternization laws don’t apply when it’s your soulmate. ;D
EDIT : I should probably mention upfront that this isn’t a fem!Yosuke story. He’s still just a dorky boy. ^^
Super big serious warning to @condemned-snek if they read this because S U I T S A N D C O L L A R B O N E S. But other than that, it’s harmless. Enjoy my dumb headcanon au.
(Narukami, APLC)
Okay, so his new office was a complete wreck at the moment. He could admit this. What wasn’t in boxes and redwells was in piles of loose papers stacked in every corner and available desk space he had. Yu Narukami, the new Yasoinaba lawyer, sweated nervously beneath his tie. He wasn’t ordinarily this bad at organization, but his client base had exploded upon moving to the small town. He’d chosen the location in part because he knew there was a market here for a jack-of-all trades attorney - someone who could handle all the wills and successions, the divorces, the small civil suits. Someone who could get to know the people and become a reliable ally when they needed one.
It was true, law school had done little to squelch his altruism. He’d been practicing for 6 months and was still having the time of his life. Leaving the crappy “big law” firm in Tokyo and starting his own practice had felt like nothing else. Now, he could follow his own rules, use his own methods, discover and win his own clients. His parents were far behind; Tokyo was far behind. And he wouldn’t change this, not for anything … even though today it found him almost literally drowning in paper.
I definitely need a secretary, he thought beneath a fresh swell of panic.
He knew he should have selected one right away upon coming to town, but before he could even start the scouting process, his door had chimed - and it had almost never stopped chiming since. What he’d learned so far was that becoming the most reliable lawyer in Inaba when you were the only lawyer wasn’t exactly the hardest task to achieve.
But this office was a malpractice suit waiting to happen, so no matter how little time he had to spare to the task, he desperately needed to find somebody.
That somebody, as it happened, came in the form of a slightly quirky, tall, brown-haired man roughly Yu’s age. He had only stopped by to drop off some paperwork from his father (who owned the local Junes branch and for whom Yu had been handling some simple corporate formation matters the company’s in-house counsel had outsourced to him).
His name was Hanamura, and he had one of the nicest smiles Yu had personally ever seen.
Yu could admit to himself that when he’d first walked through his door, he was a little taken aback by his exuberant energy. He was fashionable and attractive, and didn’t quite seem like the rest of the town at all. He assumed that was because Hanamura was likely not from there, but regardless, he seemed … strangely happy. So pleased, even, to have met this new lawyer and subsequent “talk-of-the-town” (his words, not Yu’s), that the recently admitted and super professional lawyer had to stop himself from reverting into a blushing, stuttering mess right in front of him.
Poor guy, he thought at the open, rather innocent look on the guy’s face. He doesn’t even realize how cute he is. Yu cleared his throat and accepted the folder the young man held out to him, thanking him more times than he definitely should have (definitely more times than he should have).
Too soon, Hanamura was almost gone. He’d winked a friendly wink and was getting ready to walk right through Yu’s door and back to whatever life he lived on the other side of it. And evidently unable to accept that, Yu’s throat jettisoned his voice from his mouth so fast he didn’t quite have time to adjust the pitch or even the words that came out of it.
“Are you looking for work?” No, that isn’t good, his mind decided remotely. There’s no use hiring someone you’re attracted to. No.
Hanamura stopped and glanced at him curiously, shutting the door he’d just opened but not letting go. His eyes moved off to the side as he thought about Yu’s question. “Uh, I already work for my dad at Junes - oh, but I’m still only part-time.” He shrugged and gave him a knowing look. “College and all. Why? You need someone?”
“Oh …” Of course, he clearly already has a career path carved out for himself. No time for foolish, rookie lawyers. “Well, yes. I-if you know anyone who could lend a few hours a day helping me get this office in order.”
“Just a few hours?” Hanamura quipped while looking in wonderment around the fire-hazard Yu affectionately referred to as his private practice.
Yu laughed quietly and looked down to collect himself, setting his hands on his hips so they moved back the flaps of his open blazer. “It’s … not as bad as it looks. At least, I’m pretty sure.”
Hanamura’s eyes found their way back to his after surveying his office one last time, and he smiled kindly, only a slight tease to his next words. “I mean, if it’s just a few hours you need, I could pitch in. I’m off on Sundays.”
Oh is he kind. That really is too bad. Yu pleaded with himself not to blush (come on, Narukami) before dismissing the boy’s notion. “No, I couldn’t. I wouldn’t want to take up your only day off.” He waved him away and prepared himself for Hanamura to shrug again and finally walk out.
But the boy took another step closer, finally letting go of the doorknob. “I don’t mind,” he insisted, his voice rising pleasantly. “I’ve got plenty of time at night over the week, too, if that works.”
Okay. He hesitated to respond immediately. Now don’t get too excited, or you’ll ruin it. “Well, your schedule sounds pretty full, but … if you’re sure.”
That’s when the young man’s eyes lit up. His expression hadn’t changed, but Yu could sense something happening there, beneath those caramel-colored lenses, that he desperately hoped he’d be able to explore a little more in due time.
“Great! I’ll … swing by tomorrow after dinner? Sorry, that’s the earliest I can get here for.”
Yu swallowed and prepared some form of verbal agreement in his head, suddenly at a loss for words.
“… Cool?” Hanamura implored when Yu didn’t answer, eyebrows rising beneath messy bangs.
Nod. Nod, you idiot. “Yeah!” He held out his hand (awkwardly, but it was the best he could do). “I’ll see you tomorrow evening, then. It’s not too late for me; I’m always here.” He laughed awkwardly, too, if the rest of how he’d acted hadn’t been bad enough …
Hanamura was gracious enough to accept the handshake, quirking a funny little look at him as they parted.
Wait … was that - did Yu spot a blush?!
“I’m … I’m happy to help.” He pushed a stray bang out of his face and pretended to be interested in everything else in the room - his shoes, the windows, the ceiling.
“Great …” the lawyer eventually choked out, although it was weak and lacked any modicum of enthusiasm. He was so busy noticing the way his new employee’s collarbones stuck out through his white v-neck, how that small strip of skin glowed with the summer sun, that the word actually carried a bit of unintended reverence.
Snap out of it.
Yu.
Narukami.
Narukami.
“I-I’ll see you tomorrow, then,” Hanamura confirmed, slowly nodding his head in an attempt to get Yu’s attention.
Thankfully, being talked to like a child had been more than enough to bring him around. As though the universe had snapped its fingers, Yu felt himself come back online all at once, his nerves receding and his blood cooling. “Sounds good. I appreciate you accepting my offer.”
Apparently, it was now time for Hanamura to hiccup on his words and cease to function. “Oh, yeah no problem. Heh. Uh, thanks for the, uh,” he began backing up towards the door absentmindedly. “The offer, and … uh, yeah …” he laughed in embarrassment and patted down the hair on the back of his head.
Hanamura … he thought warmly. Boy, did I pick the right town.
“Have a good evening,” Yu spoke smoothly (much more smoothly than he had since meeting him, to his relief).
“You, too!” Hanamura practically yelled, grabbing the doorknob and yanking at it so fast Yu was momentarily afraid the old thing would come off in his grip. While it was still gorgeous, he flashed Yu a nervous smile as he backed out of the office and onto the sidewalk, pulling the door shut twice when the first attempt hit his shoe. Then he waved - through the glass - and Yu waved back with a small smile.
Eventually, he was entirely gone, taking all of that restless, frenetic energy with him. Now that Hanamura was no longer in the office, Yu’s own energy felt so boring and somber by comparison. Back to his research, he supposed, somewhat in resignation.
But while he did return to his desk, and dutifully continued his research, he couldn’t help but have his imagination be swept away with thoughts of what awaited him tomorrow night.
fin
(because basically who wouldn’t want Yosuke to be their personal secretary)
