Green eyes narrowed, a frown on the cashier's face. Shouldn't he say something- anything? Yet, the more he pondered his actions, the more he decided it really wouldn't kill him to wait… right? Yes. Definitely. It wasn't that big of a deal.

Glancing around, Ritsu gave a sigh of relief upon noticing the lack of costumers at the late hour, and his coworker was busy applying her lipstick. Alright- so he could continue monitoring the situation. Sure, he felt like something of a stalker, just watching, but…

The dark haired man was obviously out of it- though Ritsu really couldn't tell if that was due to alcohol or stress. Either way, the man was busy shoving potatoes- yes, freaking potatoes- into his pockets. Yes it was considered stealing and yes the brunette really needed to intervene; if he decided not to, he could very well lose his much needed job.

So really, Ritsu should've said something. Yet he was compelled not to- perhaps by and outer force, or maybe it was the curiosity burning within him.

Already, the man successfully shoved 27 potatoes into his pockets.

How many could he fit? The cashier needed to know.

Maybe twenty more minutes passed and the amount of potatoes somehow doubled before the man finally rose. Mentally, Ritsu whistled. The man looked, well, how could one put this nicely? If someone were to walk up and ask him what death looked like, he would point to the dark figure striding towards him. Perhaps the man was planning on buying them all and figured holding them in his pockets worked a lot better than bags?

That thought went soaring when tall and deathly placed a water bottle and pack of cigarettes on the counter, a straight, grumpy face. He stated nothing about potatoes, and Ritsu began doubting if there were any potatoes after all- he just couldn't tell.

But.

He literally wasted something near forty minutes watching the grumbling man stuff his pockets full of potatoes… yet…

"Potatoes…" He mumbled, furrowing his brows in confusion, which only earned him a look from those sharp hazel eyes. Clearing his throat, "Uh- sir- I saw you take a bunch of potatoes."

Those eyes only blinked, before widening. "Hah? I think you need to get your eyesight checked."

Annoyance flooded through the brunette, as he glared up at the other, pointing in the direction of the potato section that was clearly lacking in comparison to forty minutes ago.

Tall and grumbly seemed to get the message, as he stared down at the cashier. "So, you blame an innocent man for your half-assed stocking skills?"

Scoffing, Ritsu rolled his eyes. 'Innocent man my ass!' "I watched you stuff your pockets full of potatoes for forty minutes!"

"Oh, so you were stalking me then?" That smirk was so annoying it caused Ritsu some level of physical pain. "Don't you have work to be doing?"

"Yes!" He threw his hands up in the air with frustration, "making sure people like you don't steal 53 potatoes!"

Fighting down a smile- which looked really hard which only served to piss the cashier off even further- the man paused for a few seconds, his eyes twinkling as he tried to say something that wouldn't give away his amusement.

"You… you actually kept count?"

Face burning, Ritsu actually contemplated punching the man in front of him, the twinkling in those hazel eyes making him feel… actually, they almost seemed familiar.

But that wasn't the point- they were annoying him. A lot.

"Hey!" They both turned to see his coworker hurriedly grabbing her bag, "hurry up and do your job! Lock this place up as soon as you're done with him!"

"Ah- but-" Ritsu figured telling her about the potato thief was a wise decision, but was swiftly cut off with an icy glare.

"Onodera! No questions!" And with that, she stalked off, leaving the cashier and his customer alone in the store, the latter smirking triumphantly.

"Well come on, Onodera~" the man cooed mockingly, "help the nice customer out."

Then and there, Ritsu decided prison didn't sound that horrible. He could manage- he had a lot of connections. Surely his parents could work something out and get him in the right place. It'd be okay- killing this man would so be worth it. That's what he kept thinking, anyways, as he silently checked the man's two items. Not only was he feeling annoyance, but some, other fluttering in his chest.

Glancing up at his customer, another pang of familiarity ran through him. Though his dark bangs covered his face, the cashier could still see those warm yet distant eyes. The stress was so visible, he nearly felt guilty for giving the man such a hard time. Nearly.

"Hey," a thoughtful tone had now replaced the previously sarcastic and annoyed voice, as those caramel eyes studied the brunette before him. "Have we ever… met before?"

Ritsu considered it- so they both felt that the other was familiar? There had to be something to it.

"Doubtful," he snapped hastily, "I think I'd remember a guy obsessed with potatoes."

A chuckle escaped the man's lips, one that- for some reason- really hurt. Accepting his receipt, he walked off, a smug grin on his face as he pulled from his pocket… a potato.

Tossing it towards Ritsu, he made his escape- which was really just him walking off into the warm summer night.

Desperately, the young man left in the store wanted to be angry. He wanted to find that man and yell at him- he wanted to want to do that. As he closed up store, his movements jerky, he paused in the employee room. Clutching his chest, his eyebrows knit together as he studied the very interesting pavement before him.

Why did that chuckle bother him so freaking much?

Shaking his head, he decided it really wasn't worth pondering.


"So…"

Just do your work. Focus, Ritsu, focus.

"I've been meaning to ask you something- but you have to promise not to accuse me of stealing more potatoes."

Having kept a focused eye on the potatoes all day- or at least ever since he noticed the entrance of the other- he could confirm that none were stolen. And thus, the man truly was innocent this time around.

This time, thought Ritsu as he aggressively scanned a can of pineapples. He really didn't want to talk about it, even if he was extremely curious as to what it was all necessary for.

He could practically hear the smile in the man's voice when he said that final bit. Eye twitching, the cashier sighed. "Sure, what is it?"

"You're Onodera, right?" Tall and grumpy questioned, "as in, Onodera publishing."

Pausing in his movements- it looked as though the man actually planned on buying things legally this time around, as there was a differing variety of food instead of just cigarettes and water- Ritsu glanced up.

"Yes?"

"Are you the heir to it? I thought they only had one son."

"Well, yeah." He sighed with annoyance. "That's me."

Why was this guy so curious anyways? What difference did it make? So what if he had a rich family but was working as a bloody cashier? Shouldn't have made a damn difference to him. For some reason, though, all the curiosity from the taller man made his stomach flip-flop. Made him feel like he was ten years younger and in lo-

Nope.

Not that.

Anything but that.

Moving onward, back to the present.

"If you don't have anything else, that'll be all-" Ritsu was cut off from his usual cashier statement as his customer thrusted a card in front of him- oh. A business card.

"I know who you are," the man explained upon receiving a questioning look from the younger man, "so this just evens it out."

Accepting his receipt, he was off.

And Ritsu found himself wishing that the man- that Takano Masamune would turn around and smile that same amused smile from a few nights ago. But he didn't, and of course, Ritsu just stood there clutching the little card in his hands.


Tbh I'm not real sure if I'll do anything more with it. I had a crummy day so my friend sent me a bunch of AU stuff. This was among my favorites.