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Chapter 2: Danial, Time to Work

Over the next few days, Danial looks for his green neighbor. He kept telling himself that he just wanted to make sure he was okay, but deep down he knew there was something different about the tall brunette that drew him in.

He was currently walking into the front entrance of his parent's clothing company, Bakugo Fashion, for a meeting with his parents. Danial had an idea that it had to do with the new store that they were opening down the street from his apartment building. It was going to be just a small tailor shop store, for people to get custom-made pieces and buy the smaller items as well.

He got to the elevator and pressed the top floor button. When he got off the elevator and headed straight for his parent's joint office. He doesn't even bother to knock before walking in. Each of them sitting at their desk, his father drawing up new fashion designs and his mother looking over business paperwork. Their desks were across from each other, their backs facing the back far corners of the office space. There was a couch that sat semi-in front of the two desks, in between them was a fashion dummy for his father to work with.

When they heard the door open, they looked up to find Danial walking over them, coming to sit on the couch with his arms crossed.

"Hey brat, you still haven't figured out how to knock I see," Mitsuki says, putting away for paperwork.

"I know how to knock just fine Old Hag, I just choose not to," Danial scoffs, leaning back into the couch. Masaru chuckles looking up from his design tablet, smiling at his son.

"It's good to see you son. How have you been," he asks, turning his full attention to his family. Still wearing a soft smile on his face.

"Whatever Old Man. I'm fine. Now what do you guys want? I have things I got to do," Danial says.

"Got a hot date or something Danial," teases his mother, a smug look on her face. He rolls his eyes at her.

"None of your business Hag. Now what do you guys want." Masaru lightly chuckles again at his family.

"We wanted to ask you to manage our new store going up by your apartment building. I know you help out at the Suicide Hotline during the night for 4 to 6 hours, but the store wouldn't open till 11 and you could work the hours you want, but make sure you are there and taking care of the store like is needed. What do you say, Brat? Wanna earn some extra money?" Mitsuki debriefs Danial, hoping that he will agree. Yes, he helped out every now and again with modeling and business meetings, but he was mainly still living off his family's money, and as much as she thought it was honorable that he worked so hard at the hotline, she was getting tired of still supporting her grown son. He needed to start making his own money and doing more in the family business. That was why she opened the store to begin with, Danial is great a sewing and managing business affairs, and this would be the perfect starter job for him in the company. Now she just needed him to agree.

Danial's blue eyes slightly widened in shock. He knew his parents had been trying to get him more involved in the company, but he never thought she would go this far to ensure that he would agree. This was the perfect opportunity for him, and he also knew that he couldn't keep living off his parent's money forever and that he would one day have to start contributing to the company. But he wanted it to be on his terms. Which this opportunity was much to his dismay.

He let out a long-drawn-out groan, throwing his head back. His parents don't say anything as they wait to see what his response will be. Danial picks his head up and rubs his hands down his face before turning to look at his mother.

"Fine, I'll do it, but I will work my hours. I refuse to change my hours at the hotline office." He wanted to be the one who got the call from the cute brunette when he finally called. "I will hire my own staff also," he tells his mother, seeing a satisfied smirk rise onto her face. Knowing she just won. "Wipe that smirk off your face Hag, don't look so happy about this. I will work how I want and run the place how I want." Mitsuki thought it over, thinking through the pros and cons of this, but in the end, she stood up and walked over to stand in front of Danial. He stands up to stand in front of his mother when she reaches out her hand for him to shake. They both wear identical satisfied smiles, knowing this is a win-win.

"Deal," Mitsuki says, shaking Danial's hand. "Let's go over the paperwork and I'll give you all the resumes that have been submitted for the 2 job openings at the store."

"No, I already know the 2 people that will work with me." Danial had a friend who was great with people and could run the register and help customers. Even one that was a great sewer and had a great eye for fashion. They would be perfect for the 2 job openings he had. Mitsuki eyes him cautiously, not knowing if this was a good idea or not, but Danial has always had a keen eye for business. So, she will let this go but keep a close eye on the store for the first few months to make sure everything is going as it should.

They walk over to her desk and start the paperwork. It takes them a couple of hours before it's all done. Too long in Danial's opinion, by the end, he is beyond annoyed and ready to go home. The brunette was at the back of his mind the entire day. He looked at the clock and saw it was 4 pm, knowing Jay would still be at work till around 8:15 when he usually was walking through the doors of their building before heading to the elevator. He also knew that Simon knew something about the taller man from the time he raided his fridge for leftovers the other night. 'Simon should be getting off here for the day in an hour, I'll ask him to come over then.' Danial thought, spacing out.

"Danial, are you okay son," asks Masaru, seeing his son staring at the clock over the door. Danial turns to look at him, confused before he realizes he was spacing out just then.

"Ya just thinking about something," Danial says, signing the last document. His parents look at each other curious as to what was going through their son's head. "Okay done, now I am leaving. I'll see you guys for Friday night dinner." With that, Danial nods to his parents and walks out the door. Leaving his parents completely perplexed.

"What do you think that was about," asks Mitsuki. She looks at her husband.

"I don't know, but I'm sure when he is ready, he'll tell us. But till then we'll just have to wait." She did not like that answer, a trait her son got from her, they didn't like not knowing things. Mitsuki lets out an irritated huff before sitting back down at her desk and getting back to work.

It was about a 30-minute drive from his parent's office to his apartment. When Danial walked through the door of his apartment, he pulled out his phone and sent a text to Simon to come over after he got off work. He couldn't shake the feeling that he knew more about the brunette than he was letting on and Danial was going to do anything to make Simon tell him everything.

Danial went into his kitchen to start making dinner. His kitchen was a chef's dream, he had bought the apartment so he could personally make the kitchen into whatever he wanted. Sure, he could buy a house or a nicer apartment, but this apartment was perfect for him. A 10-minute walk from the Suicide Hotline offices in this district and it was close enough to the main Bakugo Fashion offices that he could be there in 30 but far enough away that he had some distance from his parents. Plus, it was quiet, never once had he had any issues with his neighbors or other tenants. It also helped that there was a well-stocked gym in the building too, perfect for his late-night workouts after he got done at the hotline office. Now that he thought about it, he remembers seeing a certain brunette there using the boxing equipment while Danial was lifting weights. 'Why had I never noticed him there before?' Danial asked himself, now remembering how the brunette would make his way there at roughly the same time every other night to wail on the punching bag till it looked like it was going to burst. The brunette every so often looked at Danial through the corner of his eye. Always in a t-shirt and shorts, with his hands and wrists wrapped in athletic tape. His muscles bulged as he took that oh-so-perfect boxing stance and threw powerful punches at the defenseless punching bag.

Just as Danial was about to go down the rabbit hole of daydreaming about how sexy Jay looked and about what he would look like shirtless, there was a knock on his door. He looked at the clock on the stove and realized he had been thinking about the brunette for over 15 minutes. 'Okay, this might be a problem.' He thinks as he walks towards the door, to let in who he sure is Simon.

"Hey, man! Why did you want me to come over after work," Simon asks him, walking into the apartment to see Danial making dinner.

"I wanted to ask you about your friend that you raided my fridge for," Danial stated nonchalantly, walking back over to the stove to check the food. Simon looked at him surprised before a small smile made its way onto his lips. Danial had never bugged him this much about anyone or showed this much interest in anyone either. Color him intrigued by the sudden change in his long-time best friend.

"Oh really. Well, what do you want to know? I don't know how much I can tell you since he's a pretty private person like someone else I know," Simon teased, going to sit on one of the stools at the bar top counter. Danial shot him a glare before adding some spices to the food and going to chop some vegetables. Simon laughed at pouting Danial. "I will tell you he is a bartender at that famous bar and grill down the road. He's 25 and a master mixed martial artist." That instantly piqued Danial's interest. He himself loved to work out and box. For it being just a hobby he was pretty good if he said so himself, which he did, often. 'No wonder the nerd looks so hot working out.' "He's also a huge fanboy. He loves the old superhero character All Might. He even knows the actual actor who played the guy," Simon says, watching Danial closely. Intrigued with the reactions the information was pulled from his bull-headed best friend.

"Really?" Danial was also a huge fan of All Might, but he wouldn't be caught dead actually admitting it. Simon was the only one who knew about the collection of merch Danial had from his favorite superhero.

"Ya, I'm sure if you guys start dating, he would introduce you," Simon says with a smile watching the blush rise onto Danial's face. Danial swipes the cut vegetables into a pan on the stove before adding the necessary spices.

"Who said anything about dating Shitty Hair," Danial says trying to hide his blush from his smirking best friend, who was watching him. Simon laughed at Danial trying to act like the thought was too horrible to imagine.

"Oh, come on bro, you have never seemed interested in anyone before. Now all of a sudden you bump into Jay once and I mention I know him, and you are all up in arms trying to find out everything about him. Come on, you ain't fooling me. You like him. Just ask him out or talk to him. He literally lives right across the hall." Danial side-eyed him, not knowing Simon knew Danial was talking about Jay. Letting out a defeated sigh, he turns to his friend.

"How did you know I was talking about Jay and how did you know I ran into him," he asked Simon, who got a knowing smile on his face. Jay may have mentioned the blonde more than once over the years and their run-in a couple of nights ago at dinner. Simon never thought to introduce them before because he didn't know that the blonde Jay was practically obsessed with was his best friend Danial, until the other night at Jay's apartment.

"As you know, I had dinner with him and our friend Skyler the day you ran into him. He mentioned it over dinner." Simon decided to leave out the crush part. He knew Jay wouldn't want his biggest secret being spilled before Jay could man up and tell Danial himself. Danial could tell there was more to it but decided to let it be for now. He looked over at the food in front of him, thinking about what else Simon could be leaving out.

"He complained about me, didn't he," Danial said, his shoulders sagging slightly sad that he was most likely right.

"Danial, nothing you could make him complain about you," Simon says, hoping that he didn't say too much but just enough for Danial to understand how much he meant to Jay. Danial tenses and turns to look at him, shocked by Simon's reply.

"What do you mean by that?" Danial was hoping that it meant Jay liked him as much as he liked Jay, but he had been down this road before. Simon saw the fear on his face and gave him a soft smile and chuckles.

"It means that you both are clueless and just need to hang out more." With that Simon gets up and starts heading for the door, giving Danial a knowing look and a fist bump on his way out. Danial stands there, completely stunned by what was said.

He turned back to his food unknowingly to him, he was instinctively making katsudon, Jay's favorite. When he finally realized it, it made him want to laugh. Simon only mentioned once that out of all the leftovers he took from his fridge, it was the katsudon that made his friend praise Danial like he was a god. Once it was done, he put half into a Tupperware container and set it on Jay's doormat for when the brunette got off work. Leaving a single note on top of it, 'heard this was your favorite. Made extra by mistake. Enjoy.' He hoped Jay would like it and that the worry he saw Simon have for him, was not as bad as he worried it was.

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