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He sees her first, because of course, he always notices people before they notice him. Why would it be any different now? He sees her, walking outside the glass windows of the coffee shop, beanie covering her short black hair, mask covering the rest of her face not hidden by the scarf and thick, purple rain jacket she wears. And the only thing he can think is.
Oh fuck. Before he diverts his eyes back to the book he’d only partly been able to pay attention to since preparing for this date. Date? He didn’t even know what this was going to be, didn’t want to assume, but oh god.
Toushirou, 26, college drop-out and professional failure at life had nearly dropped his phone on his face when he’d come across his childhood best friend’s Tinder profile at 2am a couple months ago. Which, in hindsight, would have been better than the accidental swipe right.
But then it was a match and Toushirou had actually turned off his phone in shame and thought about reaching out through Facebook to apologize. But the next morning, he’d turned on his phone and there, waiting, was a message from none other than Yomiko.
The weeks seemed to pass like water through strainer, they spoke of everything and nothing and eventually exchanged phone numbers. Which was how, last week, he’d finally- finally – asked if she wanted to get coffee. He hadn’t expected a yes.
Oh fuck! He repeated, fuck, relax! It doesn’t matter if this is a date or just a reunion, a friend is a friend and oh my god, I need friends.
“Toushirou?” The quiet question that came from the woman, 27, before him seemed to echo and freeze all other noise around them. Then the moment passed and his mind cleared and he spoke, “Yeah! I mean, hi Yomiko, how’ve you been?”
Seconds turned to minutes turned to hours that melded and seeped between conversations that never seemed to run dry. It was awkward, a little stilted, sometimes Yomiko would laugh sheepishly and Toushirou would grin back nervously before another topic arose. All his worries, all his stress- of who he wasn’t and who she now left him as the space they shared bended towards one another.
“You said you needed to catch the 2:50 bus, right? Do you want to head out now?” Yomiko finally asked, already standing with one bag over her shoulder.
“Sounds good, what bus are you looking for?” He pulled his chair out, looking at his phone’s map and trying to find the store she had mentioned. It definitely wasn’t going the same he was- as much as he wished it would have.
The afternoon was gray, the sun blocked by stubborn clouds. It hadn’t started raining yet, but that was bound to change any moment. They walked to the street corner, each holding their phone in hand.
“Ah, I’m going this way!” Toushirou said, realizing that she was now looking at him. He stared back and as the light turned green, time seemed to shift again.
“I’ll see you later?” Was all she asked, a shine in her dark eyes conveying an emotion he had no idea how to read.
“Of course!” He shouted too loudly, quickly, and honestly– before he practically turned and hurried down the street as she crossed the street. He put his earbuds in and made it to his bus stop. Twenty minutes later, when the bus finally showed just as the rain had finally started, did he dare to look at his phone again. His hands clutched his phone as he tried to decide how badly he’d fucked up that goodbye. Instead of opening his text messages, he scrolled tumblr until he saw a meme he thought she’d liked and sent it to her.
Moments later, she responded.