𝗼.ffice hours

six

Nanami stole yet another glance at the expensive watch wrapping around his wrist. Your promptness was certainly an issue; how does she show up nearly thirty minutes late to a meeting she called?

And then he scoffs at himself, giving a little shake of the head. Meeting? There he goes again, speaking in corporate tongue.

But finally, you do show up. Bursting through the entrance of the quiet café, making an embarrassing show of noisiness with your heaving breaths and wheezes. Not that it had been much of a disturbance to anyone else—only two other patrons resided in the small establishment; one too engrossed in her book to care, and the other scrolling mindlessly through his cellphone with a pastry in his free hand. Even so, you bashfully clapped two hands together as you peeked around the room. "Sorry!"

The older woman behind the counter nods in appreciation. Nanami can't help but exhale roughly through his nose in sort of an almost-chuckle. God, you were a mess, weren't you?

"Sorry, I'm so late!" You approached the table he resumed, one near the front window like you'd asked for. Your heels clopping against the grainy tile, knee-length dress flowing like water around your legs. He stands, walking to the opposite side of the tiny, rectangular table and pulling out the chair for you.

"Impressively late," Nanami derides, but it's not full of any malice. Truth be told, he did have the patience of a saint when situations like these were called to question. He didn't mind waiting, because despite your utter tardiness, he trusted that you'd show up eventually, rather than ditching him altogether and leaving him to sulk in the humiliation of being stood up over a cup of black coffee. You were scatterbrained at times, yes, but dependable? Always.

Nanami returns to his side of the table after pushing your seat in. It wasn't meant to come across as a romantic gesture; Nanami had made it a habit of serving the women in his life nothing but a respectful demeanor. Whether it be lovers, colleagues, friends, and anyone in between. Though admittedly, his behavior towards you these past couple of months has been anything but respectful. It's too late to start making amends to things, but the least Nanami can do now is try.

You shudder. Flustered, maybe? "Y'didn't have to do that," you tell him, placing your phone and clutch bag onto the table.

Nonsense. "My mother would have my head if she knew I let a lady pull out her own seat." While true—his mother, bless her heart, raised him to be the gentleman his is today—he also just... wanted to do it. It felt right to serve you a seat.

Your elbow slams rudely on the table, finger reaching across to wag in his face. "Sounds like a good woman!" You laugh, and Nanami gingerly swats your hand away. He's about to say something, but you beat him to the next sentence. "Hey, what gives? I thought this was supposed to be a day of relaxation?"

He worms under the scrutinized glare you wave up and down from his face to neck to chest to abdomen, finally peeking under the table to gawk at his shoes. Nanami curls his toes, a feeble attempt to shrink away from the judgement casted in your eyes. "What? Stop looking at me like that."

"You're dressed in fancy-man clothes." At that, he takes it upon himself to look down at his wear; an ironed dress shirt clung to his chest, tie resting flat and perfectly centered between his pectorals. His slacks were ashy grey and devoid of any wrinkles, cut and hemmed around his ankles just above those stiff, leather shoes snug on his feet. The matching suit jacket was slung neatly over the backrest of Nanami's chair, sleeves tucked away into its pockets.

His least expensive suit, sure, but still far too pristine and tidy for a little coffee shop outing. "Is it so bad that I like to remain presentable?" Nanami offers the question while he busies his hands, plucking open the pearlescent buttons at his wrists and rolling back the sleeves off the off-white button down.