Daichi hadn't applied to work at the university's library out of any particular passion for books. He was simply an econ major with a good memory for call numbers and a bank account that was feeling the squeeze.
But he had to admit, the job had its perks. Lots of time to do homework at the desk, his friends stopping by to chat and study in the armchairs, something to put on his resume. And like a mailman reading postcards, he took a casual interest in what books people checked out, whether it be Hinata Shouyou reliving his childhood with A Series of Unfortunate Events ("It's for my little sister," he'd nervously explained to Daichi, who nodded and didn't bring up the fact that Hinata's little sister lived several hours away) or Oikawa Tooru, the university's resident heartbreaker, flipping through Dating for Dummies (he must've finally gotten with that guy?). Today, he's been absorbed in finance for several hours when someone clears their throat.
"Hey, can you check me out?"
Daichi reluctantly lifts his eyes from the textbook on his lap, and then complies - happily.
The student is slender, but the pale blue button-down rolled up to his elbows reveals surprisingly muscular forearms, and his jeans are just skinny enough to be tantalizing. Underneath the button-down, he's wearing a white tank top that fits snugly around his chest, with a neckline dipping low enough that the smooth skin of his neck catches Daichi's gaze and holds it. His hair is silvery-gray, and his eyes are the kind of warm brown that you'd want to wake up next to for the next forty years.
He smiles at Daichi, and it's like a cup of hot cocoa on a cold winter's day, spreading through Daichi's body and filling him with warmth. "Is that a no?"
Daichi realizes abruptly that he's been staring, and blinks several times. "U-uh, yes. I mean no. I mean - sorry-" He takes the proferred Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone and runs it under the scanner, feeling his ears begin to redden.
The student chuckles and hands over his ID card to scan. Sugawara Koushi, huh? A sophomore, like Daichi…
"Thank you," Sugawara chirps, and flits away.
The next day, he's back with the next two Harry Potter books.
"You read quickly, huh?" Daichi asks, pressing the scanner button on the pair of worn-out paperbacks.
Sugawara laughs sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. "They're really good…"
"You wanna know how Harry beats him in the end?"
"No!"
It takes Sugawara all of a week to blaze through the entire Harry Potter series, and Daichi hates to admit it, but he's curious what Suga is going to choose next. So when the pretty sophomore has brought back Deathly Hallows with puffy eyes and taken his requisite emotional recovery day, Daichi is waiting eagerly for the next time he comes up to his desk.
Sugawara does not disappoint. Next up is the Ranger's Apprentice series, then Discworld, then…
Gay Sex For Dummies, Brokeback Mountain, and How To Get The Guy?
It takes Daichi two full weeks of these last picks and more of their ilk before he realizes that Sugawara may be dropping hints, and only then when he brings up a particular book. Daichi glances down, sees the grayscale tie on the cover, and nearly chokes.
Fifty Shades of Grey?
Sugawara smiles beatifically at him.
Daichi is beginning to realize that this job may become a problem for him very, very quickly.