"Ah..who's this?" Riki's manager asked.
"This..is y/n." Riki presented you. "I met them yesterday and have to bring them along for reasons." He summed up.
"Can I work here? For just today?" You asked. Riki's manager still looked doubtful. He sighed. "I mean..I guess? We're not going to pay you, though." He finalized.
You nodded. "Yup, that's okay."
"All right." Riki's manager frowned and wiped his hands on his apron. "Just don't get in the way." He sighed and turned around to go into the back of the restaurant. You frowned. "I'm not getting in the way if I'm working as cashier, right?" You asked rhetorically. Riki nodded and handed you an apron. "Right. He's just kinda rude." He said as he tied his own apron.
You nodded and put your apron over your head, shifting to try and tie it at the back. You looked up when you felt Riki's warmth close to you. He frowned. "Lemme just do it." He pushed your hands away and tied the apron in a bow at the back.
"Thanks." You said softly.
Riki gave you a sideways glance and smiled a tiny bit. He just nodded.
You smiled, too.
————
After the shift, you and Riki sat in the back with a couple of his coworkers after explaining the situation. He was more lively than you'd seen him since you met him. Then again, you'd known him barely two days.
"How'd you get so lost??" Sunoo asked you.
"Yeah." Aera said. "Evermore Crest is so far. So many miles!" She gave you a wide eyed look with her brown eyes shining.
"Uh..I don't know." You told the two.
Sunoo gasped and met eyes with Aera, then glanced at Riki. "The late train! You have ten minutes, it goes from here all the way to Evermore!"
"You guys can go that way!" Aera added.
A grin grew on Riki's face and he laughed a little. "Does that mean I can skip work tomorrow?" He asked.
"Sure!" Sunoo clapped and smiled brightly.
"Ohh, Konon will murder you!" You nudged Riki's shoulder with wide eyes. He gave you a softer smile and leaned towards you a little teasingly. "I'll call her and tell her.." He told you softly. "Then we'll just leave. She won't be able to stop us." He grinned.
Aera smacked the table and stood up, making you yelp and Riki pull away. "Stop flirting!" She commanded with a smirk. "You dumbasses have known each other barely two days."
Riki rolled his eyes and you did everything not to make eye contact.
"Anyway," Sunoo said, also standing up. "Take my money and go get some train tickets, you barely have enough time."
"No, I can't take-" You started.
"You have that broke vibe." Sunoo pushed the money towards you. "Take it."
You eyed the money for a moment before glancing at Riki. He pouted a little but gave you a nod. "Fine." You said. You took the money and stood up quickly. Riki stood up next to you and you felt him untie your apron before untying his own. You took the apron off and laid it on the table.
"See you, hopefully! Thank you for the money!" You called as Riki pulled you out by the wrist.
"Bye!!" Sunoo and Aera cheered.
————
Riki led you through the town and to the train station with his warm fingers linked with yours. You watched your hands as you half ran with him.
Holding Riki's hand was a soft and warm feeling. Not just on your hand, but a kind of warmth that grew from your heart and spread about your entire body.
Your mom had once told you something on your thirteenth birthday. Something you always found hard to forget.
Teenagers make impulsive mistakes. She's told you. So I want you to be careful from here on. I trust you, baby. But please don't do anything stupid.
You wondered if this was considered an impulsive mistake. It didn't feel like a mistake, but running under the streetlights, hand in hand with Nishimura Riki, it definitely felt like an impulse. You barely knew him at all, so why this? All you needed was help, so why this?
You wondered if he felt the same, you wondered if he thought the same.
What you didn't know was that he did. He found himself warming up to you a lot faster than he had to anyone else. He wondered if it was a mistake to make impulsive choices like that. Do things like this with someone who was only just more than a stranger.
————
You reached the train station breathing heavily and startled the person you traded money with for tickets. You got a couple of coins back for change and Riki dropped the money into his coat pocket before taking you by the hand and entering the train less than a minute before is took off.
With heavy breaths, you both found two empty seats at the back and sat down. You let out a heavy rush of air. The adrenaline still hadn't faded and your heart was beating at far more than the average heart rate.
You shifted and fished in your pocket for something. You frowned, realizing you'd left the shiny pink wrappered candy in Riki's kitchen counter.
You glanced up when you felt Riki pick up your free hand and place something in it. You looked down to see a new little candy. You smiled. "What's this."
Riki pulled his hand away and stared out the window. "It's..for you...I guess.." He mumbled. You smiled. How cute.
"Okay." You said softly. You tucked it into your pocket for later, when Riki wasn't around. "Thank you." You whispered.
Hesitantly, you leaned onto his shoulder. He let you.
————
You'd fallen asleep for a short time and when you woke up, everything was still and completely silent. It was dark outside and you could hear the rattle of the rails underneath the train, rhythmic and strangely soothing.
Riki was leaning on you and breathing softly. He was asleep. You smiled and shifted a little bit. He was so nice and warm.
You closed your eyes to sleep again, but found yourself hearing your mom's voice echoing around your mind.
Teenagers make impulsive mistakes.
Mentally, you shook your head at the statement. And this isn't one of them. You told yourself.
The logical part of your mind doubted every word in the sentence. Lies.
