Work Text:
The relationship between Shin and Akira had stagnated at a painfully timid level. After two months of being officially together, the two young people barely held hands behind the condiment aisle, blushing at the slightest touch.
This restraint quickly became unbearable for Lu and Heisuke. One Tuesday afternoon, stuck in the storeroom between two deliveries, the two friends decided to take matters into their own hands.
"This can't go on any longer!" Lu declared, slamming his fist on a bag of rice. "Shin is a telepath, not a monk! They have to get through this! I'll take charge for Shin."
"And I'll take care of Akira!" Heisuke exclaimed, bursting with enthusiasm. "Shin is my best friend. I know his tastes inside and out. I know what makes him swoon, what he likes, and what makes him melt!"
— Wait... How long have you and Akira been friends to be talking about this?, asked Lu, perplexed.
"Ever since we compared our water pistol shooting techniques last week," Heisuke replied quite naturally. "We get along really well. Everyone thinks it's normal!"
Lu nodded, convinced. The plan was perfect: Lu would control Shin through messages to give him an aura of dark seducer, while Heisuke would brief Akira on the telepath's secret weaknesses so that she could take the lead.
In the cold drinks aisle, Lu was pestering Shin's phone. The poor telepath, his face crimson, was reading the instructions Lu was sending him from the counter.
"Message from Lu: Write this to her word for word: 'Akira, tonight, I don't want us to hide anymore. I want you to feel the strength of my commitment. Meet me at 9 p.m.'"
"Lu, that's way too aggressive!", Shin murmured, reading his thoughts from a distance.
"Send it or I'll delete your video game account.", Lu replied by text.
Meanwhile, at the other end of the store, Heisuke was coaching Akira with the seriousness of an Olympic coach.
“Listen to me, Akira,” the sniper whispered. “Shin acts tough with his leather jacket, but really, he’s a softie. You know what he loves most? When someone tells him straight up that he’s handsome. It takes his breath away. And secondly… he loves it when people sleep next to him. Nothing weird, mind you! Just falling asleep together. He looks tough, but he’s a kitten.”
Akira, who was trying to appear very detached but who desperately wanted to please Shin, narrowed her eyes with a falsely innocent look.
"Oh really?" she said, pretending not to understand the implication. "He likes being told he's handsome? Even when his hair is a mess in the morning?"
"Especially in the morning!" Heisuke assured. "Trust me, I'm his best friend."
Guided by Lu's disastrous advice, Shin finally sent the text message dictated by the young Chinese woman. Meanwhile, Akira, encouraged by Heisuke, decided to reply by improvising a message intended to score points.
Shin received Akira's reply while he was putting away cans of food:
"Okay for 9 p.m. Heisuke told me you like surprises. I put on a special outfit under my sweater and brought a large sleeping bag for two. Get ready, Shin-kun."
Shin nearly knocked the entire stack of boxes over at his feet. His ears literally started burning hot.
"A... A special set?!" he stammered, his vision blurring with romantic panic. "A sleeping bag for two?!"
In his corner, Lu was jubilant.
"It works!" she whispered to Heisuke. "My femme fatale messages have unlocked the situation!"
"And my advice about her tastes did the trick!" Heisuke replied, flashing a victory sign. "They'll get over the hurdle tonight!"
The problem with the combined advice of Lu (who wanted to do something spectacularly romantic) and Heisuke (who recommended a "quiet place with height") was that the location directions given by SMS were totally distorted by the misunderstanding.
Instead of meeting in a peaceful park or on a romantic bench, Shin and Akira met at precisely 9 p.m. ... in the heart of Kabukicho, right in front of the entrance to one of the shabbiest and most shady Love Hotels in all of Tokyo.
The building sported a fluorescent pink neon sign in the shape of a broken heart that flickered miserably in the light rain.
Shin, dressed in his finest jacket (on Lu's orders), held a bouquet of slightly wilted flowers. Akira, in his best outfit, carried a large, old-fashioned bag containing the famous "sleeping bag".
They stared at each other for ten seconds in terrifying silence.
"Shin-kun..." Akira began, glancing at the flashing neon sign."Room by the half hour - Jungle atmosphere"This is... This is where Lu told you to take me?
"I... Lu gave me this address, saying it was an 'intimate adult chat space'..." Shin stammered, nearly fainting with shame. "I swear on Sakamoto-san's life that I didn't know what it was!"
Realizing the extent of the trap their "friends" had set for them, Akira and Shin took shelter under the porch of the dubious establishment to escape the gaze of passers-by.
"It's official," Akira said with a very calm severity. "From now on, we will NEVER follow Lu's advice again."
"Not Heisuke's either!" added Shin, his voice trembling. "Did he tell you to bring a sleeping bag?!"
"Yes! He told me it was to 'get over the hurdle'!" Akira confessed, her cheeks flushed but her eyes sparkling with humor. "And then... he told me other things."
Shin frowned, intrigued despite his embarrassment.
— What stuff?
Akira approached him, making him take a step back against the hotel wall. She stared straight into his eyes with a sudden confidence that made the telepath's heart skip a beat.
Heisuke told me that you really liked being told you were handsome. And that deep down, you just dreamed of sleeping with someone.
Shin froze. He swallowed hard, unable to read Akira's thoughts because his own mind was suffocating under panic.
"That's... That's the only piece of advice from Heisuke that we're allowed to keep," Akira murmured with a small, teasing smile.
Akira took the bouquet of withered flowers from Shin's hands and seized his wrist.
"Come on. Let's leave this horrible place," she declared.
They walked in the light rain to a small covered bench near the river, far from the harsh neon lights of Kabukicho. They sat down next to each other, the large bag placed between them.
"So...," Shin began, still not daring to look directly at her. "You... You really mean what you said?"
"What? That you're handsome?" Akira retorted with hilariously feigned naiveté. "But Shin-kun, I thought that was a scientific fact. Even when your hair's a mess in the morning at the grocery store and you're grumbling because Lu drank your orange juice, I still think you're gorgeous."
Shin hid his face in his hands, letting out a small moan of overwhelming shyness.
— Akira, stop... You're killing me.
"And as for the rest..." she continued, moving closer to him until their shoulders touched, both of them under the sweater I mentioned in the message... It was just the hoodie I stole from you last week. Heisuke told me you loved seeing me in it.
Shin's relief was so great that he let out a genuine laugh. The absurd misunderstanding orchestrated by Lu and Heisuke had just shattered all their barriers.
"Heisuke's lucky to be my best friend," Shin smiled, lifting his head. "Because, actually... he was totally right. I love it when you wear my clothes."
"And what about the other advice?" asked Akira, tilting her head to the side, a little provocatively.
- Which ?
— The one where we sleep together.
Shin stared at Akira. The young girl was no longer laughing entirely. Her eyes reflected immense tenderness, but also a real desire to move their relationship forward, far from the childish antics of the grocery store.
Shin reached out and gently placed his fingers on Akira's cheek. He caressed her soft skin with infinite tenderness.
"I want to take this step with you, Akira," he murmured, his voice becoming deep and sincere again. "But not in some weird place in Kabukicho. And not because Lu texted us. Because I'm completely crazy about you."
An hour later, they were back in the quiet apartment above the grocery store. Sakamoto and Aoi were already fast asleep upstairs, and the house was enveloped in a soothing silence.
Shin had unrolled a large futon in the center of his room.
Akira had put on Shin's famous oversized sweatshirt. She lay on her side, propped herself up against the pillow, and patted the empty space next to her.
— Come on, Shin. You're too handsome to stay standing.
Shin let out a silly grin and sat down beside her. He hesitantly put an arm around Akira's waist. The girl immediately snuggled against his chest, resting her head just under his chin.
The warmth of Akira's body, her sweet scent, and the steady sound of her breathing filled Shin with bliss. He finally understood what Heisuke meant. There was no need for grand romantic displays or aggressive seduction tactics. Simply being there, pressed against each other, was enough to change everything.
"Are you asleep?" Akira whispered in the dim light.
"No," Shin murmured, placing a very soft kiss on her hair. "I'm enjoying it."
"Are we going to make Lu and Heisuke pay tomorrow?" she asked, with a slightly vengeful note in her voice.
"We'll make them clean the hot sauce aisle with toothbrushes," promised the telepath.
The next morning at seven o'clock, Lu and Heisuke waited behind the grocery store counter with poorly concealed impatience.
When Shin and Akira went down the stairs together, holding hands with a perfectly serene and complicit air, Lu almost dropped her cup of tea.
"SO?!" Lu exclaimed, jumping up. "My message to Tokyo Tower worked?! You made it through to the intimate space?!"
"Not at all," Akira replied with a radiant smile, grabbing a carton of juice. "Your plan was an absolute disaster. You sent us to a seedy love hotel."
"Oops," said Heisuke, scratching his head. "I must have entered the wrong address in my GPS..."
“However,” Shin continued, fixing Lu and Heisuke with a telepathic assassin’s gaze, “Sakamoto-san is waiting for you in the storeroom. He said you need to reorganize the ENTIRE stock of soy sauce before opening.”
"What? But we haven't done anything!", Lu protested.
"This is our thank you gift for your expert advice," smiled Akira, quickly kissing Shin's cheek in front of everyone, making the boy blush with happiness.
Taro Sakamoto walked by at that moment, broom in hand. He glanced at Shin and Akira laughing together, then at the two punished matchmakers heading towards the storeroom. The boss let out a satisfied grunt: technology and bad advice had failed, but love had finally found its way.