It was a bright, summer morning at the SPR Gym and Recreation center. Osamu Yasuhara was manning the front desk, or rather, sitting at the front desk reading a science fiction novel. He was always the first one there in the mornings, arriving just before the head maintenance guy, Houshou Takigawa.
"Good morning." Yasuhara yawned, not looking up as he heard the front door open. "Eugene said that you forgot to sweep the basketball court and he'd appreciate if you did that first." Yasuhara continued reading as he spoke.
"I am Eugene." Eugene laughed, leaning on the front desk counter.
Yasuhara's head flew up to see Eugene smiling at him. "Oh." He laughed nervously. "Sorry, usually Houshou is the only person here at this time."
"Eugene chuckled again. "You know, literally your only job is to see who comes in the door." He finished clocking in and began walking back towards the doors to the basketball court.
"Wait," Yasuhara closed his book and leaned back in his chair. "Why are you here so early?"
Eugene turned and began pushing the door open with his back as he jerked a thumb back towards the gym.
"I felt like a jog before work," He explained. "I stayed up last night until, like, three AM binge-watching Netflix and if I'm going to put up with kids this afternoon, I need to get a head start on the day."
"Oh." Yasuhara pushed his glasses up, silently wishing that he could look that good on that little sleep. Eugene always looked good. "Good luck, then. If you need to go home let me know by noon so I can start notifying parents."
Eugene shook his head. "Nah. I'll be good." He slipped through the door and Yasuhara watched him jog down the hall through the tiny glass window in the wooden door.
Yasuhara sighed, returning to his reading. A few minutes later, the front door opened again. Mai and Houshou entered together, chatting loudly.
"Sup," Houshou greeted as he typed his ID into the time computer to clock in.
Yasuhara recounted his message to Houshou about sweeping the basketball court before greeting Mai.
"You okay?" Mai asked, looking Yasuhara up and down with a hand on her hip.
"Just tired." Yasuhara had already returned to his reading.
Mai shrugged and skipped through the door towards the yoga studio with Houshou close behind.
For the next hour, the rest of the SPR Gym employees filed through. Madoka and Ayako, chatting about their latest juice cleanse recipes, followed by Lin who still looked half-asleep.
Lin was wearing his usual cropped t-shirt, baring his midsection. Yasuhara was still not sure whether this was meant as more of a fashion statement or a political one, or both. However, he knew better than to ask the yogi to explain his outfit choices.
John arrived at the same time Oliver did, though John knew better to start any conversations with Oliver this early in the morning. At 6:00 AM, Yasuhara officially unlocked the doors and announced over the PA system that the Gym was open.
Eugene passed by again and walked through the front office door to get to the showers.
"Good morning!" Yasuhara didn't look up, he had just heard the front door and assumed it had been a gym member.
Eugene chuckled and walked backwards into the office. "Just me again."
Yasuhara tried not to blush when he looked up at Eugene. His shirt clung to his chest and his hair was sticking up in all directions. He gulped. "Sorry."
"You really need to start looking up before you greet people." Eugene winked before disappearing through the office door.
X~X~X
"You're doing the first class this morning, right?" Mai asked, stretching on her orange yoga mat.
Lin, in a typical cross-legged pose across from her nodded, his eyes still closed.
Houshou barged into the quiet room with a handful of plastic garbage can liners that made a loud rustling sound, upsetting the peace.
"Did I change the bags last night?" He crossed the room, walking between Lin and Mai's mats and picked up a small bin full of empty water bottles and disposable wipes. "Oh. Guess not."
He changed the liner and set the bin back down, positioning it carefully against the wall so Lin wouldn't complain about the 'balance of the room being offset' or something ridiculous. "Need anything else?" He glanced back at Mai and gave the bin one last gentle push into what he felt was the right spot. He secretly hoped that there was more to be done in the room so that he and Mai could goof off. Sometimes this job could be incredibly boring.
Widening her lunge stance, Mai kicked over her water bottle, and water poured out onto the wood floor. Lin flinched.
"Oops!" Mai was a terrible actor, but Houshou was glad for the excuse to chat with Mai rather than pretending to be working somewhere else.
He walked quickly towards the door. "I'll go get the mop!"
Lin shook his head, eyes remaining closed. He couldn't imagine the stress of working with Mai and Houshou's antics if he didn't literally meditate for a living.
Moments later, Houshou returned and he and Mai chatted about some movie they had seen recently. Finally opening his eyes and observing the pair, Lin let out a tiny snort of a laugh. He didn't even think it was possible to mop so slowly. He stood up and rolled his mat up before placing it against the back wall. Glancing at the clock, he decided that he had a little time to mull about before his first class. Leaving Mai and Houshou to neglect their jobs together, he took his water bottle and quietly left the yoga room.
Lin had hardly made it out of the door into the main equipment room when he heard someone calling him.
"Lin!" Madoka waved him over from behind a weight machine. She and Oliver were standing by the wall sipping from large water bottles, looking like they had just finished running a mile, which they probably had. "I was just talking about you." Madoka brushed her sweat-drenched bangs out of her face. Her cheeks were almost the same color as her pink hair and it took everything she could not to stare blatantly at Lin's bare midsection. Why must he insist on wearing those loose crop tops to work?
"Oh?" Lin made his way over to where Madoka and Noll were standing, tucking a hand into his pocket when he got there.
Madoka pointed with the mouth of her bottle at Oliver. "I was telling Noll that he should take a yoga class with you or Mai. He's always so stressed out, you know?"
"Yoga helps clear the mind." Lin spoke in agreement while Oliver was still too out of breath to say anything to defend himself. "So does daily meditation."
Madoka gave Oliver a pointed look. "See!" She leaned towards him. "Even Lin agrees." She turned back to Lin. "Thanks!"
"Why don't you take a class?" He uncapped his reusable water bottle. "It will benefit Noll, but it would probably do you some good too." He took a sip.
Madoka shifted her weight from foot to foot nervously. "Huh!" she squeaked. "Maybe I will!"
Lin nodded politely before turning away and heading back towards the yoga room.
Madoka's hand flew excitedly to Noll's arm. "Did you hear that?" She was trying to whisper but it came out like a raspy scream. "He wants me to come to his yoga class! We are so going to get married and have adorable kids!"
Oliver brushed her hand off of his arm. "By that logic he also is going to marry and have adorable kids with me," he deadpanned, glancing at his watch before leaving Madoka alone, still trying to comprehend what he had implied.
X~X~X
"Good morning, ma'am!" John greeted a gym member as she came through the door to the daycare, her two young children in tow. He was setting up a palette of washable paints at the snack table and laying out a few pieces of white cardstock. He turned and kneeled to the childrens' level. "Do you guys want to paint this morning?"
The kids both jumped excitedly and ran to claim their seats at the table. John laughed at the energetic boy and girl.
"I see they're in good hands!" the mother commented, signing her name on the parent check-in sheet. "Be good, okay!" She waved at John and her kids as she left for her work out.
A few more parents dropped their kids off with John throughout the morning, and soon he had a running total of at least seven little ones at all times. He circled about the room as they finger painted. One painted a bird, another a tree with a sun shining on it, another painted a terribly unflattering portrait of John, and a little girl tried her very hardest on a butterfly that she was incredibly proud of. John stood behind the girl painting the purple butterfly.
"It's beautiful, Ellie." He pointed at a wing. "This is very detailed!"
Ellie grinned at him with pride. "Thank you, mister!"
The other children observing this instantly became jealous and waved their drawings at him to judge. He giggled nervously and began complimenting all of the paintings in turn.
He made his way to the door for backup. "Yasuhara!" He yelled out to the front desk across from the daycare room door.
"Yes?" Yasuhara bookmarked his sci-fi novel. "Do I need to call a parent again?"
"No! Just come here!" John shut the door back and rushed back to the table to make sure that no paint was spilled during the moment he was looking away. The children were still happily painting with minimal messiness.
"What do you need?" Yasuhara burst through the door looking less than excited.
John gestured towards the snack table. "We just wanted to show you our paintings!"
Ellie, the meticulous young girl, held up her purple butterfly. Yasuhara thought it looked like a snail or maybe an obtuse pair of lungs.
"Oh!" He feigned an excited voice that sounded mostly sarcastic, but he was sure the kids wouldn't understand sarcasm anyway. "What is it?"
The girl rolled her eyes as if Yasuhara were a complete idiot. "A butterfly, duh!"
"Oh yeah I can totally see that!" Yasuhara's voice was still sarcastic.
John nudged Yasuhara's rib lightly. "Isn't it pretty?"
"Oh, absolutely." Yasuhara leaned forward to study the painting closely. "Just don't quit your day job," he mumbled.
Ellie looked pleased, if not somewhat confused. "Thank you! Mister, what's a day job?!"
X~X~X
"Okay! One lap around, please." Eugene blew his whistle as about two dozen 5th graders began to jog past him. He could already tell that this was going to be a long day, and he was beginning to think that the conspiracy theory documentary he had stayed up until all hours of the morning to watch was hardly worth it. He had only really watched it because it seemed like something silly that Yasuhara would be into, and hoped he could talk to him about it. He was in the middle of making a mental note to ask Yasuhara at lunch whether or not he believed that the moon landing had really taken place when the gymnasium door swung open. Eugene looked at who had entered and saw he wouldn't have to wait until lunch to ask.
"Do you need something?" Eugene glanced at Yasuhara briefly before returning to watching his kids soccer team.
"No." Yasuhara came to stand beside him. "I'm just bored out of my mind."
Eugene held up a finger in front of Yasuhara's face. "Hold that thought." He blew his whistle again. "Find a partner and stretch!" he instructed, and then turned back to Yasuhara, prompting him to continue.
"Also this book I'm reading is ruining my life." Yasuhara crossed his arms.
Eugene chuckled and began moving towards a bench against the back wall to sit. "How so?" Eugene sat and draped his arm against the back of the bench.
Yasuhara sat down next to Eugene and ruffled his hair with both hands in exaggerated frustration. "Everyone dies!" He squished the sides of his face with his palms. "Like, everyone!"
"Oh, I can see how that could be frustrating." Eugene chuckled. "What's the book about?"
Yasuhara heaved a heavy sigh before speaking. "Kids going to the moon and dying." He glanced up at Eugene. "I mean, basically."
Eugene leaned back against the wall, looking up at the heavy industrial ceiling fans. "Do you believe that the moon landing really happened?"
A moment passed as Yasuhara considered. "I don't think so," he finally said, risking a glance at Eugene's face while he was turned away.
"Why not?" Eugene sat up again, if he noticed Yasuhara staring he didn't let on.
Yasuhara laughed, "Why are you asking?"
"I was up last night watching a documentary about it." Eugene paused, stood again, and called out instructions for another exercise.
Yasuhara stayed seated and waited for Eugene to sit back down. When Eugene rejoined him on the bench, he launched into a long stream of questions about the documentary and the moon landing and Eugene's personal opinions. Eugene could hardly keep up, but he would talk to Yasuhara about anything if he were this passionate about it. If Yasuhara were passionate about Economics, Eugene would listen. If Yasuhara were really into the social structure of a beehive, he would listen. Eugene shook his head, realizing he hadn't been listening.
Yasuhara didn't seem to notice. He was talking about his book now. "It really makes you wonder! Like, why do we not go to the moon anymore? That message, too, was real! There are real possible alien broadcasts from the moon and nobody talks about it!"
Eugene shook his head, chuckling. "God, you are such a nerd."
Fumbling, Yasuhara nervously took off his glasses and cleaned them with the hem of his t-shirt. "I'm just really passionate about space travel."
"And conspiracy theories," Eugene added.
Yasuhara blushed, replacing his glasses. "Yes, conspiracy theories."
Eugene blew his whistle again and stood, but before instructing his team, he looked back over his shoulder at Yasuhara. "Who killed JFK?"
"Oh my God do not even get me started."
For the second time that day, and yes, Yasuhara was counting, Eugene winked at him. "I'd sure love to."
Thanks for reading this silliness! Like all great AUs, this started as a joke. Thanks also to Hannah (Snavej) for being my beta and also convincing me to write this in the first place! If you keep up with my other fanfic, I have 4 chapters now stockpiled and almost ready to post so that will be updated regularly soon. It is looking like I will update this fic frequently as well seeing as Hannah is helping me to speed it along. Thanks again for reading, rate and review if you don't mind! -Bee