Chapter Text
Satoru:
Satoru had hoped, he really hoped he could prove his parents wrong. "This is my dream, okay? I'm not like you, I can't help it if I'm not interested in real estate!" The memory played in his mind each day he sat in his empty bakery, Limitless Treats.
The location was terrible, it sat in a lot right behind a huge Costco. He thought he would reel customers in when they were going to the big store, and it did for the first two weeks after the grand opening.
But now, it completely overshadowed it. So each day he sat, arm resting up on one of the tables, watching the clouds and cars passing by..dreaming of booming business. Closing time was soon and he didn't even feel like moving.
"Am I supposed to throw these away?" Utahime asked, pointing to the matcha cupcakes sitting inside the display case. She was younger than him, hadn't had any experience and desperately needed a job, so Satoru remorsefully gave her a position at his bakery a few months ago.
He didn't really have a choice giving she came in a hysterical mess, pleading for a job she needed to kickstart her journey on becoming a pastry chef.
Even though, with business being so low, experience is not what she was getting. Satoru still paid her so she didn't mind for now. He didn't mind the company either.
He sat up with a long sigh and turned to face her, "Nah, I'll take em with me and hand them out at the shelter a couple blocks from here." Despite Satoru feeling a crushing realization in his chest like his dreams were coming to an end and he'd soon be in an office with his parents, he still wanted to do his part and make people smile. He always helped when he could.
Utahime packaged the leftover treats and turned the bright neon pink open sign off. Satoru went to his office and grabbed his keys that were sitting on top of a stack of papers at his desk. His office was a complete disaster that basically just looked like a mail room.
Paper sticking out of and on top of his filing cabinet, on top of the two chairs that sat in there, and in the corner sat a huge stack that looked untouched. As he grabbed his keys, he stopped and looked at his invoice from his last bulk order.
Why even bother ordering more of this stuff? What's the point in this? Maybe they were right, he thought to himself. He walked out and shut the rest of the lights off except one, leaving the bakery dimly lit.
"I'll see you tomorrow right? You're not gonna go jump off a bridge are you? Seriously though, you look depressed as hell." Utahime asked, holding his box so he could lock the door. Satoru knew this was her way of asking if he was okay, her bluntness wasn't anything new.
He forces a smile at her as he carefully grabbed the box from walked to their cars and away from the bakery, "I'm cool, just thinking about how much longer this place is gonna hold." he jerks his head toward the bakery.
"I thought your parents were like super rich." Satoru squints his eyes at her, peering with confusion. She read his look immediately and laughs, "What? You're a Gojo! Everyone know's the Gojo family is super rich. I can't help it if you're family owns almost everything in LA!"
Satoru wishes it were that easy, he wished his family were as giving and caring as he was. Truthfully, they didn't have to help him when they did or let him stay with them, even though the house is so big they never even know when he's there.
But, they were not as lenient when it came to the bakery. "Yeah, they're rich alright...rich assholes. They want me to work my way up on my own, like they did. Don't get me wrong I'm definitely privileged, but when it comes to the bakery I am completely solo in this. So they'll watch me struggle, it feeds their ego when they prove me right."
He sets the box down on top of his car, and kicks the rock around on the ground. Utahime was silent. She didn't really have anything to relate his struggles to, so she offered all she could.
"Hey, I can't let this place go bankrupt. Who else is gonna give me free dorayaki?" she laughed lightly, trying to fill the hole Satoru's harsh words left in the air. "Yeah that's true. Utahime's gotta have her doryaki mother, please pay my rent." Satoru teasingly rolled his eyes.
"Brainstorm some ideas tonight and we'll come together tomorrow! I'm thinking a big event, lalapalooza even!!!" Utahime says back, talking with her hands as her voice fades away into her car a few spots away from Satoru's.
He secures the box of treats and pulls off the lot and heads for the homeless shelter. The sun was still in the sky given it was 6:24pm on a warm day in June. He loved summer for the long days and for the beach. He definitely needed a beach day.
He quickly arrived at the shelter and carefully grabbed his box full of matcha cupcakes, strawberry dorayaki, and daifuku. Closing the car door with his foot, he walked up to the front entrance as someone held the door open for him.
The older lady at the desk, who he remembered by name and face now, greeted him with a warm smile, "Gojo! It's good to see your lovely face! Brought some more goodies for them?"
Satoru smiled and went over everything he brought in his box. He loved doing this, he loved helping and sharing his treats with other people, but a small hint of guilt always creeped up on him.
Would I be here if business was good and I didn’t have these? No, Satoru was not going to let his thoughts ruin the good deed he was doing.
He wasn't like his parents. His parents would have thrown all the extra treats in the garbage. His parents wouldn't even know that there was a homeless shelter down the road.
No, his parents will never understand what he is doing because his par- the lady interrupted his thoughts. "Gojo? You okay? Let me take that for you honey."
She grabbed the box that was half on the desk and half in Gojo's arms. He awkwardly chuckles, hoping she didn't realize how out of it he is today.
"I'll go take this back now, thank you again for your huge act of kindness. They look forward to this kind of stuff." she says honestly. "I hope they enjoy it! Take care!" he cheerfully replies as he goes to exit the building.
On his way out though, a big bulletin board of bright fliers and papers, that sat next to the double doors, catches his eye.
He gets closer to it while thinking, Has this always been here? Why have I never noticed It before? Papers with job opportunities and resource centers scatter all over the board.
His eyes linger to a bright orange paper that says in big letters FOR LEASE. Satoru thinks for a moment before pulling out his phone and snapping a picture of the paper.
Utahime said to brainstorm ideas, this couldn't hurt, right? It looked like the same strip mall where he gets his sneakers. That place was always booming with business, Satoru vividly remembers getting frustrated at trying to find a parking spot there. Even when he drives by it on his commute back home, there's always cars filling up the lot. This could really work.
Suguru:
The sun was peering in through the crack of the window shades and angling just right to burn through his eyelids. Suguru stretched and groaned as he annoyingly sat up to rest his head on the headboard.
He lived in an apartment on the lowest floor and he loved it. He loved listening to loud rock music and he never had to worry about being THAT upstairs neighbor.
Suguru reached under the covers to find his phone, pulling it out to check the time. 10:27am. His tattoo shop opened at 12 and he was booked throughout the whole day, per usual.
He slowly stood up and grabbed an outfit from his closet before he walked to the bathroom across his room to take a shower. Suguru loved hot showers, it really helped clear his mind and kickstarted his busy day. That and energy drinks. He needed an energy drink.
He brushed his teeth and put on his outfit for the day. A plain white t-shirt that showed his fully tattooed arms and biceps, baggy black jeans with a chain dangling from one belt loop to another and black combat boots.
He grabbed his sketchbook, keys, and his charger, threw them in his dark green canvas bag and left. While walking to his motorcycle, he lifted his hands up to check his black painted nails...Seriously? Chipped already? Riko is gonna be so upset.
Putting his helmet on and securing his bad safely, he headed to a 7/11 to grab an energy drink before his work day finally begun.
Yuki met him at the shop, she was always early, standing outside smoking a cigarette. "Heyy big boy. Get any good sleep last night?" she said flirtatiously, her voice husky, as she put her cigarette out.
Yuki was always flirting with Suguru, but she flirted with everyone. She was just a flirtatious person, it was nothing personal. He had known Yuki for years through work and it had never been anything more than that.
Taking his helmet off, he replies, "Does it look like I got sleep?" dramatically holding his tall energy drink in the air for her to see. They share a laugh as Suguru reaches in his bag for his keys.
The air in the shop smells of incense, an earthy yet sweet smell. The walls are painted a deep red with an array of art on every corner, barely leaving any space free. The dark oak desk that sat in the entryway was custom made with their business name on it...Cursed Spirits Tattoo and Piercing. Yuki walked to her corner of the shop and set her bag down. Her specialty was tattooing animals, so that's exactly what the art surrounding her station was. Suguru mainly did Japanese traditional tattoos but he was open to anything, he perfected nearly every tattoo style.
"Haibara said his first appointment isn't until 1:30 so he'll come in around then. That cool?" Yuki asked, looking at her phone. "Yeah, sounds good." Suguru replied carelessly. He was a pretty lenient boss, as long as his employees communicated, it ran smoothly. It was like a family.
Suguru sat down at the front desk and logged into the computer that sat at the end of it. Every day at the start of his shift, he began checking the appointments, making sure the deposits were sent, and stenciling any design ahead of time.
Kirara, their piercer, came in cheery as always, "Good morning guys!! You get a new car Suguru? Share some of that money with me!" Suguru titled his head, confused. Without responding, he walked passed them to the front entrance and peered through the windows to see a shiny white Ferrari. It looked very misplaced next to the other cars. The windows were tinted so they couldn't see the person driving it.
"Definitely not mine." he stated, his voice flat and monotone. He didn't even realize Yuki was standing next to them both, until she spoke, "Maybe some rich guy got a hair up his ass to get a tattoo?" They stared and stared, waiting for this mysterious person to appear. Suguru had a very diverse group of clients, but he had never seen someone so rich in this neighborhood.
"Smiles everyone! I smell a big tip coming!" Kirara giggled, their voice bubbly and childlike. They all resumed preparing for their shift; Suguru finishing up his stencils, Yuki cleaning her chair and refilling her green soap, and Kirara getting out the needles they would need for the first client of the day. The store opened in 3 minutes. Suguru turned on the soft rock playlist that they all put together for the place and went to turn on the open sign while taking another peek out the window at the car that still sat there.
Shrugging his shoulders, his stomach summoned him to the kitchenette they had to grab a light snack, he really needs to quit skipping breakfast. Settling for a bag of chips, he returned to the open area and his eyes were greeted by a pretty man standing at the front desk. He was tall and skinny, but definitely hiding muscles under his clothes. His hair was white as snow and Suguru couldn't help but notice how beautiful his eyes were.
Suguru quickly examined his outfit, a regular white t-shirt that sat underneath his light blue, short sleeve, opened buttoned up . He wore light washed khaki joggers and a black fanny pack hung around his chest. His sneakers were white and blue Jordans that clearly showed he was made of money. Probably some rich asshole. Great.
"How can I help you?" Suguru smiled, gazing into both his beautiful blue pools.