Sweet Rice (Kita Shinsuke x Male reader)

03: Helping Hand

"Morning, Kita! The usual today?"
You asked, pulling out a small paper bag.

Kita stood there for a moment before nodding, approaching the counter. Was he really that predictable? Or had you just caught onto him? Either way, it gave him a nice feeling.

"How's business been?"
He asked, trying to start up some small talk.

You smiled,
"It's been going pretty well. On weekdays like this, it's pretty quiet though,"

He popped one of the sweet treats into his mouth,
"Makes sense. Good that yer still getting customers though, it's nice having ya in town,"

"That's very nice of you to say, Kita. Busy day ahead of you?"

He let out a sigh,
"It's about time we start planting the rice stalks, but our tractor broke down and most of the other farmers are a bit older so they can't really bend down to plant them too much,"

You tilted your head for a moment, thinking before proposing,
"How about I come over and help today?"

He raised a brow, not so convinced,
"I couldn't ask ya to do that, ya got a business to run,"

You waved your hand around,
"Oh c'mon, I'll probably get maximum five more customers today, I'm, sure they won't mind waiting another day,"

You continued,
"Besides, you did say it'd be nice to help you around the farm,"

He rolled his eyes,
"Ya know that I didn't-"

He was cut off by you stuffing his mouth with a pastry,
"Just accept the help, Kita. I know you want to,"

He made quick work of the pastry before giving in,
"Fine. But ya need to follow my instructions, ya hear?"

You saluted him,
"Yes sir!"

Though his face didn't show it, he was glad.

~*~

"You weren't kidding when you said this hat would come in handy! It's a lot hotter than I thought it was today!"

Kita smiled with satisfaction hearing this, along with everything else you complimented him about. He did feel like you might have been going a bit overboard with it, oohing and aahing at every action he took while demonstrating to you. He couldn't lie, it felt good, but he wasn't so sure if he was deserving of it all.

"Don't feel too bad if it doesn't look like we've done much, there's no way the two of us would get this all done in one day,"
He warned, not wanting you to feel like you'd failed.

You hummed in response, continuing to plant the rice stalks into the rice paddies, going backwards in the straight line like you'd been instructed. It wasn't the most comfortable thing in the world to have your back hunched over for so long, but you managed to get into a good rhythm for it.

Kita was pretty impressed with your work considering you were a city person. By no means was it perfect, but it was definitely leagues above than the Miya's embarrassing attempt at it. With some consistent practice, you'd probably end up as good as him in no time.

The two of you continued your farm work, occasionally exchanging a few words, though it was mainly reminiscing about your younger years.

"The city's nice, but it can just get so… suffocating sometimes. It's always so loud, and everyone has somewhere to be. I mean I was used to it, but still, it just wasn't sustainable for me,"

"I think you'll find it's a bit quieter here,"
Kita commented, listening in on every detail.

You stood still for a moment, looking out into the distant sky, a bright blue fading into a soft orange.
"I'm glad I came here,"

He stood up as well, though there was another sight he much preferred to look at.
"Same here. Yer a good friend,"
You gave him a smile,
"Thanks! You've been nothing but kind to me since I got here Kita, I don't think I would've managed without you,"

He shook his head bashfully,
"Eh, ya seem like ya could handle yerself fine,"

He looked at the progress the two of you made, imagining how everyone else would react the next day.
"Let's call it a day. Why don't ya stay for dinner? Least I could do for making ya slave away here,"

"Really? That sounds great! You won't believe how long it's been since I've eaten out with friends,"

The two of you stomped out of the rice paddies, water and mud trailing off onto the grass where you walked. You cleaned yourselves off and made it inside of the Inarizaki alumni's humble abode, a pleasant aroma already waiting for you.

"I started some curry in my slow cooker earlier this morning, that sound good to ya?"

You nodded hungrily, taking a seat at the table while Kita portioned out the food.

You let out a satisfied noise as you dug into your food,
"Man, after a hard day's work, this really hits the spot,"

Kita hummed as he drank from his cup, enjoying the company. You were fun to hang around, not too high energy, earnest, and didn't really get up to trouble like a certain set of twins he knew. Plus, you were a massive help on the farm, not only physically, but also because you provided fun conversation as well.

He sincerely hoped the best for your bakery, hoping you'd make Hyogo your forever home.

____________

Soon he'll want to be your forever home woohoo

Vote on the next chapter:

You get sick and he takes care of you

He gets sick and you take care of him

Your city friend comes over and Kita gets a little jealous