𝙱𝚎𝚏𝚘𝚛𝚎 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝙳𝚊𝚠𝚗 - 𝚃. 𝚃𝚘𝚢𝚘𝚖𝚒𝚝𝚜𝚞 𝚡 𝙾𝙲

Chapter Eight

Balancing a tray of coffees atop a box of donuts, Toyomitsu pulled open the door to Itsuo's studio only moments after Izumiya had flipped over their 'open' sign and used his free hand to hurriedly grab a piece of paper from his pocket and smack it on top of the reception desk with a little too much enthusiasm.

Pursing her lips to hide her smile, Izumiya's eyes flickered up from the ledger she was reviewing and she cocked an eyebrow at the eight-foot-tall off-duty hero, not bothering with a greeting seeing as he clearly had something to say.

"Look," he spun the paper with his fingertips so that the fluorescently shaded flyer was facing her. "We should go!"

Izumiya glanced down at the paper in his hand, not bothering to read past the date in big bold letters at the top of the page before she blinked up at him. "No."

"What?!" Toyomitsu tapped on the image of a group of people covered in paint splatters. "C'monnnnn Izumiya, we'd have so much fun! This is totally up your alley...isn't it?"

"What makes you think this is my kinda thing?"

"It's competitive and uh," the blonde winced as he rubbed the back of his neck. "Artsy?"

"Just to clarify," the woman leaned forward and grabbed one of the take-out cups from the tray in Toyomitsu's hands as she spoke. "You think paintball is artsy?"

Toyomitsu chuckled sheepishly, placing the box of donuts and tray of coffees down on the desk and quickly swapping out the drink in her hand with another just before she went to take a sip. "You grabbed the wrong one. You don't like cream and sugar in yours, right?"

Izumiya nodded and lifted the newly bestowed cup to her lips, a small smile curving up her features as the hot drink spoke to her sleep-deprived soul.

Distracted by the soft expression he hadn't anticipated catching a glimpse of, Toyomitsu's heart skipped a beat and he completely lost his train of thought. An immediate blush spread across his plump cheeks as the sound of Itsuo clearing his throat broke the spell he was under and he realized he'd been staring. "H-hey Itsuo," he gestured to the drinks with an awkward smile. "Coffee? Donut? I brought enough to share!"

"How considerate of you to think of me this time, Toyomitsu," Itsuo teased with a smirk. "Are you joining the ten to twelves class again?"

"I had to find some sorta bribe for you to let me steal your employee for the day."

Itsuo glanced at his niece who shrugged. "This is news to me. Last I knew the perv was about to explain why he thinks paintball is artsy."

Both Izumiya's gazes were now set on Toyomitsu, who scratched his cheek with a smile. "Because...paint?"

Izumiya lifted her free hand to cover her mouth as she laughed while Itsuo sighed and shook his head, unable to miss how the hero's eyes sparkled while his niece cracked up at his expense. "If you're going to take off today, wait until after the ten to twelves session."

"Oh," Izumiya settled down and looked to her uncle. "I'll stay, don't worry Uncle Itsu."

Toyomitsu tapped the box of donuts closer to the seated brunette. "But I brought donuts~," he sang playfully, flicking the top open and then presenting them with a wide sweeping hand gesture. "Surely you can't say no to donuts."

"Still no."

"What? Why?"

Izumiya's eyebrows furrowed. "I'm working. What did you expect me to do?" She waved her hand toward the donuts as she spoke. "Jump at your dumb bribe and ditch my job to go hang out with you?"