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Fixer Upper by Yamiga
Anime » Finder Series Rated: T, English, Romance & Humor, Words: 2k+, Favs: 37, Follows: 64, Published: Apr 4, 2014
26
Summary: AU. College Intern Takaba Akihito is just trying to get by, but being the clumsiest person at a well known business in Shinjuku doesn't help his situation in the least. When a mysterious man by the name of 'Asami Ryuichi', takes slight interest in the young intern, life can't be any easier for poor Takaba Akihito.

Author's Note: Just got back from my Junior Retreat and it was pretty fun! Now I've gotta go back to school! Yeh! Anyway, 'Fixer Upper', the title of the story and also the title of a very catchy song, refers in my opinion, to Takaba. So that being said...hope you like it.

Warnings: Yaoi. OC's. AU.

Takaba had dropped perhaps the fifth box of office supplies and like earlier, there were people listening. They heard him from the main lobby, trying to clean his mess up before they came in, as he sheepishly tripped over himself and other contents from the box. He had been at this for about thirty minutes, since he had arrived at work, late and scrambling to clock in. The businessmen that flocked the building didn't even acknowledge him enough to say hello. They only stationed him in a room to organize things in a fashionable order. It was no surprise that Takaba couldn't do that much, but regardless, the higher ups just wanted to keep him out of sight.

Politicians, Celebrities, Diplomats, etc., these were the type of people Takaba encountered every day. They weren't the kindest of people, as they would rudely order him around and tell him how bad he was at doing his job. But what did he expect, working at here in Shinjuku? This was a place where wealthy people met to have meeting and discussions, Takaba was lucky enough to land a "job" here, if that's what he called cleaning the floors and emptying boxes. In addition, he probably got paid the minimum of the minimum wage. However, he wasn't' complaining, as this "job" was perhaps one of then the only things keeping someone like him on his feet. If he was ever fired, his world would probably come crashing down on him.

That day, Takaba was setting up rugs and various things in a meeting room. He'd heard from a few politicians walking down the hallways, that there would be a very important "business man" and his comrades visiting today. Takaba also heard that this man owned the meeting building. He was told not to screw up and stay out of sight. Frankly, Takaba didn't have a problem with that, as he knew his presence tended to make things worse. However, he couldn't help his own clumsiness, as he tripped over and over his feet, boxes and the air.

"God..." He muttered, finally laying out a large blue rug. "I've finally done something right..." Though his progress didn't call for celebration, he felt accomplished himself. All he had to do now was assemble a small, bamboo meeting table, set placemats, and finally get the eating ware. After that, he'd be done with his shift.

Takaba had wrestled the contents out of the box and tossed them haphazardly on the ground. Already glancing at the instruction booklet, he decided not to read it, as it would be easier to assemble it himself. It couldn't be that hard to put together a few chunks of wood one after another, one by one. But as always, the world had its way of proving Takaba wrong. He found trouble with even the most miniscule movements, forcing him to, inevitably, read the instructions booklet. Not that it helped much. He still couldn't connect anything. One by one, he tried forcing pieces together until finally, he sprawled all the wooden pieces on the ground and grunted. He then fell back on the ground and looked up.

He was just about ready to abandon the whole thing.

"Did you even try to read the instructions?" Came a deep, impassive voice, causing young Takaba to sit up and turn around. He met the honey colored eyes of a tall man. A very tall attractive man with brown hair, dressed in the usual three pieces suit that many others around this place wore. Strangely, Takaba had never seen this man before.

"Yeah..." He replied rather quietly, as not to make a fool out of himself. It was obvious that this man was someone important. "They didn't help any."

The man leaned on the door frame and chuckled causing Takaba to grow rather furious. "It's not like you can do it any better than I can." He mumbled.

"What was that?" The man crept behind him and stared.

"Nothing."

"I thought so."

"I said," Takaba stood. "It's not like you can do it any better than I can."

The man chuckled. "Exactly, that's why people like your are hired. To do work and keep you mouth shut. But it seems you can't even manage a simple task."

Takaba grunted. "Are you here to patronize me?" He asked. "Just because you have a bit of money in your pocket doesn't give you the right to be an ass."

Crap...Takaba thought, feeling slightly worried. He was angry, but he needed to watch himself around this man. "I'm sorry..." He forced. "I didn't mean_"

"Don't be sorry if you don't mean it." The man smiled and stood. "Making mistakes like that_"

"Asami-sama." A group of men entered the room causing Takaba to jump. Their eyes dawned upon Takaba. "This boy." One mentioned. "He can't even fix a table right." There were murmurs within the crowd that caused Takaba to grow sheepish. He knew he was bad, but he found it awful how these men insulted him...in front of him.

"Leave him." Asami's loud voice caused the men to grow quiet. "We can have our meeting in another prepared room." Takaba looked up surprised as Asami extended a hand, offering to help Takaba stand. Angrily, Takaba turned away. "I can stand up myself."

Asami looked down at him and chuckled. "Suit yourself then." He called for the men standing in the doorway to leave. When they did, he bent down and took firm hold of Takaba's hand, jerking the young man on his feet.

"What the hell?" Takaba yanked his arm away. "What's your problem?"

Asami only looked down at him, and smiled. "You have a lot of fire in you, Takaba Akihito." His voice was soft, and hushed as he slowly rubbed a thumb over Takaba's bottom lip. The younger man was captivated by Asami's eyes, as he stared at him with force and hidden desire. Takaba couldn't find the strength to move or to protest. There was something about this man that just seemed so strange. "But you should remember your place."

Takaba's eyes narrowed as he stepped away. "Know my place?" He asked, angrily. "And who are you? I don't care who you are! I don't care what you have to say!" There was a blush plastered across his face from either embarrassment or the fact that this attractive man had just rubbed a thumb over his lips. Regardless, Takaba didn't hide his anger.

He roughly brushed past Asami who stared at him, letting out a soft chuckle.

OoOoOoOoO

"Don't let them get to you." Kou coaxed from the kitchen window, flipping burgers.

"Yeah, it's not that easy." Takaba replied, wiping down a few tables. "I only have that job and this job to keep me on track."

Mary came out of the kitchen with cups in her hands. "I'm telling you, work for my dad's law firm in Shinjuku. He won't take crap if people insult you."

Takaba sighed. "Yeah...I just, I want to do something myself...for once_"

"There you go," Another had stepped in, Cho, holding a tray in his hand. "Trying to act all independent. If you really feel like they're treating you like shit then say something."

"Or do something." Kou called from the window. "Don't' take that."

"And what am I supposed to do?"

"You can curse them out." Mary pointed at him. "Like you did that one time in middle school_"

"Or you can beat them up, like Mary did!" Kou stuck his head out of the window. "In highschool..."

Takaba drifted off as the group continued to talk. There was an unsettling feeling in the pit of his stomach, something that he couldn't just shake off. Perhaps it was the thought that he'd have to go back to work and be insulted by those people. Or the fact that he'd meet, that man again, 'Asami', was his name he remembered.

Stress upon stress...he couldn't find a simple way to avoid it.

OoOoOoOo

While Takaba wasn't waiting tables or taking orders from snobby rich people, he was snapping pictures with his camera, capturing every moment he could in a clear frame. He either found himself in local parks, or on crowded streets. Tonight, he found himself being shoved about the sidewalks of Shinjuku, barely keeping his camera in his hand. There was a rumor that went about that a few famous celebrities would be walking around. While Takaba didn't strive to be the paparazzi type of photographer, he knew it would be a huge self achievement if he got at least a few pictures of these celebrities. Of course, it wasn't as easy as he thought, as professional photographers pushed past him, making it nearly impossible for him to see above the crowd that stood outside of the building where said celebrities would emerge from.

He felt slight defeat, as it became nearly impossible for him to take an accurate picture. It seemed that the doors to the building opened, because the wild crowd roared like animals. Takaba was nearly knocked off of his feet as he tried to get at least one picture. He eventually dropped his camera and let it dangle around his neck before giving a sigh of sheer defeat.

Perhaps another day, but for now, Takaba Akihito slowly made is way home.

OoOoOoOo

It was obvious that the taxi's were either extra busy, or were ignoring poor Takaba as he found it nearly impossible to get a ride. With his camera hanging down his neck, he found himself walking to a local bus stop, which regretfully would be a thirty minute walk. However, sucking in his pride, and ignoring his sore feet, Takaba pressed on, sluggishly.

It was then, that he heard the loud beep of a horn that sounded from the road behind him. H