Work Text:
Lately, the city had been suffering from lots of unwanted rain. People at Mysta’s office complained non-stop about how much inconvenience this kind of humid weather caused for them. He was no exception, since his work involved walking around areas to search for clues to solve cases. And now, he was standing at the bus stop while grumbling continuously about his wet clothes. The rain, of course, wouldn’t stop only by him swearing for hours, but he couldn’t help it.
After waiting for an hour, which was unusually long, the bus that he wanted to get on finally arrived. As soon as the automatic door opened, he wasted no time to step inside, not forgetting to put his phone in front of a certain device for it to check his monthly ticket. These days, things got way much quicker thanks to technological development, he commented silently. The detective went straight for the seat at the back of the bus despite many other available seats. He was extremely exhausted and wanted to take a nap for a little bit. For the past few days, he had to lock himself in his own office for approximately ten hours per day to investigate a bizarre murder happened near the suburb. Although the piles of documents on his desk appeared to be quite gruesome, it consisted of nothing but pure trivial information, leading him to have almost no idea of how to narrow the amount of suspects.
While Mysta was contemplating and the sound of the door closing slowly reached his ears, a figure of someone outside rushing towards the bus and yelling at the driver caught his attention. Not long after that, this person gradually got on the bus and looked for a seat.
Huh? Isn’t that…
The detective’s eyes went wide as he saw the new passenger.
Ike Eveland!
Ah yes, how could the sly but yet eccentric detective mistaken the appearance of his favorite novelist of all time. He might not be the nerdy type reading books all the time. However, there was this one time when he was in search of the prime suspect, he had to pretend to be a customer at a small bookstore. He then accidentally read a mystery novel written by Ike. He only saw that action as a perfect cover, but life had another plan for him. Slowly as he turned over page by page, he got mesmerized. The carefully chosen words in the book enveloped him with gentle light, welcoming him into the world of imagination and genuine feelings. That was the story of how Mysta became a fan of Ike Eveland. In his free time, he would sneak out of the office to check whether the bookstore nearby had any of Ike’s new novels. He even started to check social media more often than before to make sure that he didn’t miss a single book signing from Ike.
“Excuse me, is this seat taken?”
He talked to me!
Though the brown-haired man was screaming internally, he still pretended to be normal and nodded as an answer, for he knew if he spoke, his voice would be trembling with awe. The novelist thanked him with his soft and melodic voice, which stirred an even more chaotic whirl of emotion inside Mysta’s heart.
He couldn’t bring himself to face the one sitting next to him. The awkward silence between them was interrupted occasionally by the sound of typing. It seemed that the novelist was now occupied with his work, which somehow made Mysta upset to some degrees, because like a normal person, he also yearned to talk to his idol.
The disappointment built up in his chest, he pondered why he was such a coward, why he couldn’t hold a proper conversation with Ike. All of his thoughts were running as though a train lost its brake, until the bus abruptly took a turn, which shortened their distance for one second. That was all it took to make the detective’s heart jump. The faint and soothing scent from Ike’s perfume, the ruffling brown ash hair with a tinge of blue, the yellow and olive eyes looking directly at him as the novelist apologised, “Are you hurt? I’m so sorry about that…”
“N-No, it’s okay. Umm, so by the way, aren’t you the famous writer Ike Eveland? I really like your books. I think they’re wonderful.”
“Haha, I’m still far from being as good as many other novelists. But thank you for your compliment and I’m glad that you like my work.”
Now what!? I can’t think of anything to discuss!
Mysta mentally prayed that he wasn’t wearing an idiotic face while talking to Ike. The sound of droplets clashing against the windows gave him a hint, or more accurate, an invitation. He gulped and mustered his courage to say his thoughts out loud, “Would you like to have a cup of coffee with me?”
Clearly taken aback by the out-of-nowhere invitation, Ike didn’t reply to him right away. Regret started to bubble up inside him when he nervously waited for the answer.
“Uhm… I apologise but for now, I have to decline your kind offer due to my work.”
Well, at least I tried. Obviously he won’t agree to hang out with a total stranger, he doesn’t even know my name!
Mysta then turned to watch the streets outside, too afraid and embarrassed to say anything or look at Ike again. He didn’t have a chance to be upset for too long, though.
“But in the future, I might have some free time, so here is my number. Would you mind giving me yours?”
Frozen by the sudden question, it took the brown-haired man a few seconds to accept the small piece of paper with some numbers written on it and clumsily answer the novelist. After typing his phone number, Ike looked up at him and asked with a tender voice, “And your name please?”
“Mysta. Mysta Rias.”
“Thank you. Oh, it seems that we have run out of time. I have to leave the bus, see you again, Mysta!”
Ike hurriedly left the bus, not forgetting to check whether he had packed all of his belongings. The so-called detective was dumbfounded by the unexpected turn of events. He looked at the neat chain of numbers and letters spelling “Ike Eveland” on the note paper with disbelief. A delightful smile slowly crept onto his face. Now he didn’t look like an experienced detective at the slightest, he was more like a happy child because of his meeting with his idol.
I did it! I did it! I don’t know how but I’ve got Ike’s number! He even said he might consider going out with me if he got time! Mysta Rias is on fire baby!
He managed to not scream on the bus, his hands holding the piece of paper still trembled because of the adrenaline rush.
After getting off the bus, Ike immediately took out his blue umbrella. He didn’t go to his destination right away, instead, he stood and observed the bus being swallowed by the rain, the dazzling city light and the shadow.
Giving out his phone number was kind of a taboo for him, for nothing irritated him more than an unnecessary call which could interrupt his inspiration. So… what changed his mind back there? The childish and gullible smile? The crestfallen expression like an abandoned small fox? The charming and sparkling eyes that were yet to be dull by this cruel society? Or maybe all of those? He didn’t know, he simply acted by his instincts. Inside the rational novelist, he had a tiny, really tiny spot for something inexplicable such as fate. When the time came, he would recognize it and grasp what destiny granted him, for example, a fateful encounter with a fox-like reader.