And here I was thinking that writing something on L was niche; who even read the LA BB Murder Case book? If you look up B X reader Google assumed you’re illiterate and meant to ask for L, but I can’t just not write anything after reading that. So, if you are the 1 person who was waiting for this, then I’m sorry that the only thing here is this, but here it is.
Eyes
“Can I ask you something?”
You scanned the last of his items, seriously considering quitting this stupid job where you had to deal with this anemic disgrace to humanity every other day. “What?”
“What do you think I do with all these?”
You closed your eyes. Rue Ryuzaki, the worst part of your job, had very little going for him; he was a twenty-something private investigator with no friends in a town where neither quality was becoming. He was gangly, smelled like freezer and drug-store makeup, and was just generally odd. If you had to compare him to something, you would agree with the other cashier, who charitably described him as “spidery”.
But these were not egregious sins. No, the worst thing about him was his ritual. Every two days, he would come in— no cart— walk to the back of the store, grab an armful of strawberry jam jars and start up a conversation about a seemingly random topic as you checked him out. For whatever reason, much to your dismay, he seemed to only be interested in bothering you, in making your skin crawl; nobody else had to check him out. And every time, he would take his jarm and stuff all but one of the jars into his backpack. The remaining jar, of course, needed to be accounted for. This jar, the worst jar, was popped open, its contents scooped out with his free hand and slurped off his fingers.
You were not a clean freak. If you were a clean freak, you would have quit. Still, you dreaded every time he came in, dreaded the conversations, and dreaded, most of all, his assault on both human decency and jelly. This song and dance the two of you did while you were facilitating his borderline criminality was just a preamble; he did it, you were sure, to mess with you.
“Honestly?” You sighed. “I don’t know.”
He smiled. “I’m sure you have a theory or two.”
You glared up at him. “Rue, if I seriously considered what you were doing with seven— six, discounting the one you go through— jars of jelly you go through every other day then I would have to quit. I don’t have another job lined up, so I can’t quit, so I don’t think about it.”
“I don’t believe you.” If he was at all uncomfortable, he was great at hiding it. “I think you’re saying that so you don’t have to tell me and be wrong.”
“If I don’t answer will this conversation be over?”
“Nope.” He took one of the scanned jars. “If you don’t answer I just won’t pay until you do.”
You eyed the container, heart jumping to your throat at the prospect of being so close to him as he defiled it. “Do you bake?”
“Nope.”
“That’s my guess. Pay.”
His smile only grew. “You know what?” He leaned against the counter. “The store closes in twenty minutes, right? No customers come in around now?”
“There are security cameras.” You straightened up, broadening your shoulders; in a fight, you were fairly sure you could take him. “If you try anything they’ll catch you on the cameras.”
“The suspicion is appreciated but unnecessary.” He hopped onto the counter, sitting with his legs dangling on your side. “I just want you to keep guessing.”
“What the hell—“
“Actually,” he cut you off, “I change my mind.” He pointed at you, giving what might have been a charming smile on anyone other than him. “I want you to date me.”
You blinked. “What?”
“I want you—“ he read your name tag— “to date me.”
You took a step back. “What do you mean, date? Because going out to dinner and entering a relationship are two different levels of commitment.”
He crossed his legs. “Will my answer change your answer?”
“It will affect the forcefulness of my rejection, yes.”
“Come on,” he whined. “You don’t have much time left anyway; live a little.”
“Is that a threat?”
He shook his head. “Just the facts; you’ve only got another two months before you’re gone.”
You considered running away. You were unsure if he was like a rabid dog who might follow you if you did. “That’s very specific.”
“It is.” He set his hands between his legs. “And yet I would bet my bottom dollar on it.”
“Because you’d rig the race and kill me?”
“There’s no legal way for me to answer that.”
You backed away another step. He did not follow you. “I want terms.”
“Terms?”
“Yeah,” you nodded quickly. “I want to know every detail of your great date plan before I so much as consider going anywhere with you; I’m not about to die because I went out with the jelly man.”
“Lame, but sure.” He stuck his tongue out in concentration. “Let’s see… Do you like coffee?”
You raised your eyebrows. “Coffee?”
“You’re the one that’s so suspicious!” He crossed his arms. “I suggest a perfectly normal date and you scoff at me!”
”It’s not that I don’t appreciate the effort, but I don’t trust that you’re that normal.”
“That’s just not fair.” He sighed, sitting up straighter. “But that’s okay. You’re just being tsundere; I can be the Tamaki to your Haruhi.”
“You’re just saying words now.” You rolled your eyes. “I get it now, why you’re so weird; you’re a fucking weeb.”
“Are you insinuating that Ōran Kōkō Hosuto Kurabu is a niche manga series?”
You gestured with your hand. “That’s one. What’re the other two?”
“Escape room.”
“Absolutely not.”
He looked genuinely surprised by your answer. “Why not?”
“It’s you and I locked in a room together. I’d rather die.”
“Well, there goes my third date plan.”
Your face reddened. “You are the worst.”
He shrugged. “It was worth a shot.” He spun around, hopping off the counter. “How much is it?”
You straighter out your jacket, checking the register. “Twenty-four fourth-eight,” you read. “Same as always. Cash or card?”
“Cash.” He dug into his back pocket for his bundle of twenty-dollar bills; it was a wonder to you how he was not robbed. “Can you break a fifty?”
“I can.” You started counting the difference. “If you eat out of your jar in front of me I’ll kick you.”
He sighed. “We live in a very judgemental world. Never forget that.”
“We do.” You set the change on the counter. “Scram.”
He took the money, stuffing it into his pocket. To your relief he respected your threat. “Can I ask you something else before I go?”
You checked your watch. “Sure. Make it quick.”
“When do you know when you’ve gone too far?”
You paused. “I need more context than that.”
He leaned against the counter. “I’ve been here for a while, right?”
“Sure.”
“And I moved here for a reason; because I want to be the greatest at what I do.”
You closed the register. “Sure.”
“I don’t know if what I’m doing is worth it.”
You crossed your arms. “And why’s that?”
“I’m doing something very difficult out of spite of someone else, someone I’ve dedicated my whole life to, and now that my project is almost done…” he sighed. “Now that my project is almost done, I don’t know if I’ll have anything left after it’s all over. My spite will runneth empty and I’ll be left as a meat puppet without a master.”
Your answer was simple and direct. “Then do something else.”
He chuckled. “I can’t stop,” he shook his head. “I barely remember my own name, let alone a time before this; I can’t just quit.”
“Then be a meat doll.”
“You’re mean, you know that?”
“I get to be out of work in not that long.” You pointed at him. “You’re keeping me from my freedom. You can take my advice or leave it, but I’m giving you an answer.”
He stared at you for a moment, smiled, laughed. “I know why I like you.” He leaned forward, pressing his hands against the counter. “You’re a pistol. I thought you were, but I wasn’t sure before.”
His eyes were strange. You had never noticed it before, never looked him in the eye, but now that he was so close to you, now that you were forced to, you noticed how odd his irises were. They were not round like they should be; rather, they were almost octangular, outlined in a sharp line of blood red, no thicker than a strand of hair. Never in your life had you heard of eyes having such a thing. Maybe, you supposed, that was why he bothered you so much.
“But,” he shrugged, grabbing his jars, “I won’t force you. If you aren’t interested, then you aren’t interested.”
You had no interest in him. He was not attractive in any way. But he sparked a morbid curiosity in you, a morbid curiosity that you had to indulge.
And so, at three o’clock, you met him.
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