Work Text:
Serizawa Katsuya had a staring problem.
At first, it went unnoticed. Reigen was too engaged with his clients whenever Serizawa would zone out, eyes tracking animated hands zipping around. During those days, the only person, (or persons, if one counted Dimple,) that would notice is Shigeo. But by the time Reigen would whip around to address his employees, Serizawa would return to what he hoped was an attentive and professional state.
He didn’t know when the staring had turned into admiration, his brain making comments such as ‘ he looks good with the suit jacket off’ or ‘he has a really lean body. Does he work out?’ The smaller things that, when Serizawa didn’t focus too hard, could be seen as simple compliments. He had never been called out for his behavior before, (too embarrassed to consider the possibility of Reigen noticing and chastising Serizawa for not paying attention during working hours,) but the first time Serizawa had been confronted forced him to reconsider his problem head-on.
"What's got you so zoned out?" Dimple asked one long evening, flying in front of his face. The vibrant green was a stark contrast to the rest of the world, images of the office hazy through his translucent body. Serizawa blinked.
"Nothing, I suppose. It's been a minute."
Dimple raised an eyebrow. "You sure? You've been distracted a lot lately."
Serizawa peered around Dimple’s form carefully. Reigen was handling the client, waving hands and boisterous talk evidently keeping them both distracted enough to allow Serizawa a short conversation before the inevitable exorcism. He could feel the evil spirit cling to the customer’s form like a cat to a tree.
Serizawa chuckled nervously, averting his gaze. Reigen kept rambling. “It’s nothing that will hinder the business, I think.”
“So you have been distracted?”
Shigeo, who had been unsubtly eavesdropping on their conversation, perked up like a flower to water. “Is this about Serizawa-san’s crush on shisho?”
Serizawa froze, staring straight ahead as Dimple began laughing raucously. Shigeo stared innocently as Serizawa’s brain crashed, rebooted, and buffered for what felt like eternity.
“That explains it. Who knew you were so perceptive, huh Shigeo?” Dimple gave a toothy smirk, floating over to the middle schooler and giving an affectionate pat to the boy’s head.
“Now- hold on a second… I didn’t say it was true!”
“But you didn’t deny it.” And now Shigeo’s eyes were glistening. “Oh, I’m so happy for you and shisho… when will you confess?”
Serizawa pressed his nails into his palm, glancing anxiously toward the direction of Reigen and the client, who were thankfully still discussing the prices for the exorcism and the conditions for the payment.
“Since when were you so interested in romance, Shigeo-kun?” Serizawa deflected.
“I think Shigeo always had that side to him,” Dimple chuckled. “But it’s gotten more prominent recently. Ever since he’s spent more time with that Hanazawa punk, the kid started to have more of an interest in the love lives of others. I think the blondie is rubbing off on him.”
“Hanazawa is really good at matchmaking. When we were watching this movie the other night…” Shigeo and Dimple continued to discuss Hanazawa-san and the frankly absurd amount of romance movies the kid had seen, leaving Serizawa in the dust and still reeling from the abrupt mention of his love life.
The topic never came up again, but the impact of the short conversation was burned into Serizawa’s memory.
He'd always feel warmth whenever Reigen would go on being himself. It wasn’t just during the long working hours of the day, where Serizawa was privy to an animated and confident form that never failed to hold his attention. It was also when the sign on the door would be dutifully flipped to Closed , Reigen’s bravado gone as he’d slump into the couch.
Vulnerability was hard for Reigen to express- Serizawa knew that painfully well. So it wasn’t hard to feel that familiar pinching in his chest whenever Reigen would exhibit a form of trust in Serizawa as he would lie on the couch motionless, allowing exhaustion to peek in his form for the first time in the entire day. It wasn’t hard to watch the rise and fall of his chest as Reigen just breathed, it wasn't hard to watch him crack an eye open and stare right back at Serizawa.
When Reigen would stuff his mouth with freshly brewed tea, and immediately splutter as though he didn’t know that it was scalding hot.
When he would offer words of advice, serious in all its nature, but immediately turn around to contradict himself.
When he would hold Serizawa, keep him grounded as the esper would lose control of his power, staying with him when Serizawa’s mind wanted Reigen to do nothing more than leave.
It was these versions of Reigen that Serizawa slowly began to realize he was a little more than “interested” with.
But such one sided admiration was dangerous. Serizawa knew this, and yet he couldn't bring himself to look away when Reigen looked back for the first time on the couch, the warmth in his stomach turning to sparks. Serizawa held his gaze for a beat longer than what was considered professional, but eventually Reigen broke eye contact first, red crawling up his neck as the blond sat up on the couch and rattled off the day’s sales.
Their dynamic shifted from that day onward.
What was initially just Serizawa observing Reigen without his notice became him catching Reigen’s eyes on him first. Where Serizawa once was able to let himself watch Reigen's face twist and shift from one expression to the next became those same muscles twitching into a surprised, if not embarrassed smile when he would catch him staring. Emotions that, unless Serizawa had missed something in all time at Spirits and Such, were almost never displayed so openly on Reigen’s face.
Days became weeks, weeks to months, and a quiet day in the office yielded a guarded question. It was clearly meant to be conveyed casually, but Serizawa had learned all of Reigen's tonal inflections by the first week. It didn’t help that he was so fidgety, either. Leaning over the desk that Serizawa called his own, fiddling with his tie in one second, then pushing the hand into his pants pocket the next. Reigen's brown eyes seemingly darted around everywhere, but they eventually zeroed in on Serizawa.
"You're doing it again," Reigen huffed, exasperated. "Glazed eyes, staring at me. Am I really that interesting?" A self deprecating laugh.
Serizawa blinked from his stupor. Reigen had been talking, but it seemed as though he had missed half the conversation- again. At the very least, he had been able to catch the last question, and it was with blunt finality that Serizawa spoke.
"Yes."
Simple and to-the-point. Perhaps too much so, as Reigen stopped in his fidgety movements and looked back with a strange expression on his face. For the first time, Serizawa found that it was unreadable.
"Okay," Reigen finally said, leaning a little more into Serizawa's space. The esper made no indication of moving away, which Reigen seemed to take as an invitation to slump some more so that he and Serizawa were eye to eye. "Why?"
"Why?" Serizawa repeated in confusion. He tilted his head, trying to find the best way to word his next few words. Reigen was kind, funny, extroverted and introverted all at the same time. Some may say eccentric, perhaps a little crazy- but those were all traits Serizawa liked about Reigen. He had a charming smile, and would always try to keep his hair tidy around clients despite it being ruined by the end of an exorcism. His eyes were sharp and always so keen- his ability to see through a person and speak to their heart pushing a client over from paying for the cheapest option to the most expensive. It was admirable, it was fascinating, it was-
He felt his face involuntarily heat up.
A sudden spike of anxiety curled in his gut, but Serizawa pushed it down. He trusted Reigen, both in work and outside of it. Surely, he could trust him with his feelings, too.
"Because I like looking at you."
"Hah? Me?" Reigen blanched at this, as though it were genuinely something he had never considered. "This thin, boney, ugly thing? You might want to reconsider-"
"Don't call yourself that," Serizawa said sharply, which stopped Reigen in his tracks. He had never used such a tone with his boss, but he felt it necessary. "That isn't true."
Reigen raised an eyebrow and lifted a thin, admittedly smaller than average arm with bones in stark contrast to the pale flex of his skin.
"Well, maybe it is true-" Serizawa stumbled over his words, but quickly regained his composure. Reigen really needed to stop eating only instant ramen. "But it isn’t all about how fit you are. It’s also just… everything about how you are, really. It's fascinating to watch you move, talk, act- the whole package." Suddenly bashful, Serizawa looked away. Perhaps he was laying it on a little too quickly, but it felt appropriate in the moment. "You're also… rather handsome."
A snort of laughter, and Serizawa snuck a peek to see those same wonderful lips pulled into a soft, genuine smile- Serizawa’s favorite expression. "That's funny," Reigen huffed, eyes meeting Serizawa and locking him in place.
"I think you're not so bad yourself."
He didn't look away.
Serizawa could feel his breath catch in his throat as Reigen moved imperceptibly closer, a loose hand placed lightly on Serizawa's shoulder. A faint dusting of red scattered the blond’s cheeks, and for the first time Serizawa realized he was close enough to see freckles. This was an invitation, Serizawa realized- he didn't have to follow through. The light hand and pause as Reigen waited for Serizawa's response was evidence enough. But even with the anxious voice in his head, whispering all that could go wrong, Serizawa knew what he wanted.
Pulling a pink tie closer, square hands cupping a freckled face, Serizawa pulled Reigen into a kiss.
Those sparks he felt after all those days- no, months - of watching Reigen putter around the office exploded into a mosaic of fireworks, a dull pop sounding in his ears as Reigen moved his own hand to pull Serizawa even closer.
Reigen tasted sweet- like the savory sauce that was used on the takoyaki that he likes so much. His lips were admittedly chapped, but to Serizawa nothing mattered other than the fact it was Reigen that he was kissing so gently. Reigen, who had shown him the world he had missed all those years spent in his room. Reigen, who gave him the room to grow as both a person and as a functioning member of society, allowing Serizawa to pull the reins at any time.
Reigen, who he loved so, so very much.
A dull crash pulled him from his reprieve, and the two pulled away to witness what could have been the entire office being held up by a faint purple energy. Serizawa’s aura wrapped around every liftable item in the office, including, much to Serizawa’s embarrassment, the two co-owners that were inhabiting it. Serizawa laughed nervously, starting to lower them back down.
“Sorry… I didn’t realize I still had that problem.”
“It’s no problem,” Reigen said, dazedly. His eyes were unfocused, hair tousled and collar shifted to reveal a sliver of neck that made a pang go through Serizawa’s gut. “Wouldn’t mind if that happened again, so long as I get to do this.”
The blond pulled Serizawa into another kiss, and then another, then another, and Serizawa was all the more pleased to indulge him.