*WARNING* Features straight sex between a gay man and a straight woman. Any of my stories may contain coarse language, slurs, and possibly what some consider homophobia. All characters are considered adults for all intents and purposes despite what may be stated here for fantasy. If this isn't what you're into, please leave now to save your own time and spare the comment section. Thank you.
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Naoto stood there, head half in the clouds, as he watched the two men talk. He'd been glad when his father had finally taken a step back from the restaurant, but his insistence at coming with him every so often to select fish for that day's delivery was an inconvenience. Whenever his father came with him, it seemed to take twice as long due to his penchant for storytelling. Thankfully today was only a half day, so it wasn't quite as important, but an irritation nonetheless.
The fishmonger had finally noted Naoto's listlessness and feigned a call to work to cut the conversation short. They'd been working with him for almost two decades, so the man knew how his father could be. He was thankful for his tactfulness. With this they hurriedly said their goodbyes and finally made their way out of the shopping street towards the restaurant.
Naoto was appreciative of the silence between himself and his father after the noise of the shopping street as they made their way out of the busier part of Asakusa towards the outskirts where their family restaurant had lied for over 30 years. At least he was until his father's mouth opened with the question that had seemed to become their weekly ritual.
"So...when are you going to find a wife and settle down, Naoto?" inquired his father.
What his father had come to refer to as "the look" spread across Naoto's face. "I've told you before, there isn't anyone I'm interested in right now," he replied.
It was the truth. Technically. There wasn't anyone he was interested in since he hadn't had the time, but it wasn't the real reason. The fact that Naoto was gay had somehow eluded his parents and he seemed content to leave them blissfully unaware, but the older he got, the more his parents annoyed him wondering when he would marry and make an heir for the restaurant.
He was still young enough, though, at 28 and preferred spending his time in Shinjuku's Nichome district drinking away his free time with the occasional partner. He couldn't ever find the right time to tell them and before he knew it, he'd already been in charge of the restaurant for two years.
"There must be someone who's caught your eye... Maybe that new waitress you hired recently..."
"Haruka-san? No, she's pretty, but our relationship is strictly professional, besides, she has a boyfriend."
"Well, you know that's how your mother and I met..." he started to remember fondly.
"Dad..."
"Alright, alright. You know I have to keep asking though. Your mother seems even more worried about it than I am. She's been talking about a matchmaker."
"No! I mean, no, I don't need a matchmaker. Tell Mom not to bother with that. I'm too busy with the restaurant right now to worry about it anyway."
"Haha, fine, I'll tell her, but I can only keep her at bay for so long. Well, we're here. I'll leave you to it. I've got my Tai Chi group at the park in a couple of hours," he said, almost already out of earshot.
"All right, have fun."
He sighed. His precious morning walk had been ruined by all that sort of talk. He had such little time to himself since taking the restaurant over and he treasured every minute of it, so when something like this happened, it had the tendency to ruin his day.
He slid open the door to Hanafuya and stepped inside. He was always the first one in since selecting the fish tended to happen in the wee hours of the morning. The other employees wouldn't be in for a couple of hours. He removed his coat and unfolded his apron, placing it over his work kimono, ready for the day to begin.
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Around 2pm the last lunch customer had been gone for a while and he'd already dismissed the sous chef and the day waitress. He was closing up early to prepare for a special event.
It was almost the anniversary of him taking over three years ago. Someone taking over the family restaurant at his age was unheard of, but with his mother's failing health, he'd finally convinced his father to stop working full time and focus on both of their health while they could. It was hard work and he still had a lot to learn, but he was managing.
Sadly, over the past few years, business had declined with the advent of more tourist friendly food stalls in the center of Asakusa, so as part of the anniversary celebration, Naoto had taken his savings and renovated the restaurant to a more hip vibe in hopes of drawing in more customers with a blend of modern and traditional. He'd planned to reveal the new style at a grand opening tomorrow night and he'd invited every critic, magazine editor, and restaurant blogger he could find.
The response had seemed positive and he'd decided to create a special menu for the night with more rare and expensive ingredients than usual, so he'd closed early the past week to work on it.
He'd no sooner put his knife down after he'd filed a fish when he heard the door slide open.
"Hey, boss!"
In walked Haruka, his hostess. She'd taken to calling him "boss" when it was only the two of them instead of respectfully using his last name, but he didn't mind this familiarity.
She was a college girl, 20 years old, with long black hair and a slender, yet curvy, body. Still young enough to pull off the school girl style that was popular right now, but she could look just as good in a cocktail dress for the evening shift she usually worked.
It seemed she'd just come from class and Naoto was lucky that she could come in and take care of confirming seats for the grand opening as well as some other clerical duties that she'd stepped up and proved herself capable of doing. He really was lucky to have hired her.
"Afternoon, Haruka," he responded neutrally.
"What's got your tongue? Lemme guess, it's Tuesday so... Ah, your Dad was here today."
"Bingo."
She'd taken to using casual speech which Naoto didn't mind. Even though they were boss and employee, they were close enough in age to get along well and became friendly quite easily.
"Well, don't take him too seriously. He's just concerned for you. I'm sure it must be annoying, though, considering the circumstances... You should just tell him."
Being the young, modern woman she was, she'd sussed out his secret relatively easily when an ex had come in for dinner and lingered a bit too long at the counter.
"Easier said than done. It's one thing telling them that, it's another telling them there won't be any grandchildren to succeed me."
"Ouch, yeah, that's going to be tough. Well you always have my support," she said smiling, "Ah, I need to get changed, though. Work isn't going to get done by itself."
He smiled to himself. It was nice to know he had someone he could count on and the thought comforted him as he went back to cutting fish and rinsing rice.
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He'd looked up from time to time to see how she had been doing. She'd taken to tying her hair up in a ponytail and it made her look quite mature while she made calls to confirm the reservations and double check delivery time with wholesalers. Everything needed to go off without a hitch and she'd proven quite capable. It had made his day much easier and he was thankful for the help while he perfected the menu.
Hours had gone by and it was already 8pm by the time they'd both finished.
