#almostangrywritings

[almostangrything]

Hama x Sama fanfic: One-Stop Heart Pop Game Shop- Chapter One.

This will have multiple chapters, mostly fluff, probably some angst but ultimately a happy ending, most likely. Hama is the DM character, Sama is the player character. Here we go!

Alright, let’s get started.

Hama unlocks the door leading from his staircase to his game supply shop and steps into the lower floor. Closing the door behind him, he relishes the smell of his personal slice of paradise. The freshly brewed coffee in his hand mingling with the paper and plastic of all his game kits and equipment makes for a rather pleasant aroma.

Setting his coffee on the counter, where he has his cash register, he begins to tidy up and restock. It was always these moments in the morning he loved the most. A few minutes before opening where he could just take in his realized dream. Ever since he was a tween, he had loved playing Dungeons and Dragons with his friends. So much so that he began to make his own tabletop role-playing games. It led to him starting his shop. Business management courses sure came in handy during college, when he was promoted to manager at his local bookstore.

But since then, he had started his own shop. For fantasy and games, though he was trying to branch out a bit more, so he did have some other books and props and other things of that nature. It still fit the vibe of his place, which he had dubbed the One-Stop Game Shop. It was his life’s dream, as silly as it sounded.

Finally, he felt satisfied with his preparation and turned the lights on, unlocking the door before stepping behind the counter to sip his coffee. He felt quite cozy in his warm, reddish-brown sweater (with the neck rolled down, of course; Hama hated things like that touching his neck) and light tan pants.

It was roughly 8:17 when his first customers came in, some excited groups of kids, mostly tweens and teens, with a few younger/older siblings and parents. The middle and high schools in the area were hosting some gaming nights, and a few colleges were doing so as well. It was great for business.

Hama was happy to help them. He rarely got rude customers, and when he did get troublesome individuals come in, they were usually quick to respond to his soft voice and kind demeanor. After the first wave of customers flushed out, it was relatively quiet until 12:12, when Hama was sitting behind his counter, having a sandwich he made earlier.

Because at approximately 12:10, a very heavy rainstorm had started, and at 12:12 (Hama likes to check his watch, as he enjoys being precise about things), a very bedraggled and rain-soaked young man all but scrambled into his shop, his hoodie sopping with the rain that it had absorbed. He looks up, giving the shop a once-over before his gaze lands on Hama.

Hama gives his usual gentle but charming smile. “Some storm we’re having, huh?” he asks, wondering how a person could be so absolutely saturated.

“You’re tellin’ me,” the young man responds, his voice a little hoarse from running in the harsh weather. At least his mouth wasn’t dry, though as he looked at Hama more, that started to change. “Sorry for getting water all over the floor.”

Hama just chuckles. “You look like you could use a few minutes inside. And don’t worry, it’s tile by the door for a reason.” Standing up from his stool, Hama steps around the counter to approach the new face. “Name’s Hama. You?”

“S-Sama… My name’s Sama,” the newcomer, now known as Sama, replies. He can feel himself getting nervous as Hama draws nearer, but he doesn’t quite know why. I mean, it was just an extremely kind shopkeeper with cute glasses and fluffy hair and gorgeous deep brown eyes and- I should probably stop before I give myself a nosebleed, Sama thought. Straightening up, he can see that Hama appeared to be around the same height, though with the slight slouch, it was hard to tell.

Hama smiles a bit wider. “Nice to meet you, Sama. Kinda cool that our names rhyme, huh?” he tries to lighten the mood. “Let me go get you a towel. I have some clothes I keep for this purpose specifically as well, I’ll get those too.” Hama walks swiftly away to get the items as Sama stands there, looking adorably like a wet bat.

Just a moment later, Hama returns, holding a fluffy white towel, a blue shirt, and a pair of grey pants. “There’s a public bathroom in the back corner,” he says kindly, handing Sama the clothes. “May I take your jacket?” Sama’s black hoodie had taken most of the rain, though was still totally soaked.

“S-Sure, thank you,” Sama responds as he peels off the hoodie. He awkwardly hands the wet garment to Hama, who holds it with one hand and drapes the towel around Sama with the other before stepping back.

“There we go.” Hama’s smile never falters as he places the hoodie in a bucket and waits for Sama to change. Once Sama steps out in the borrowed clothes, holding the wet ones, Hama holds up the bucket. “Here, I’ll put them in my dryer. I’ve been meaning to switch my laundry anyway.” He thinks for a second. “Actually, if you prefer your clothes separate, I can do that.”

“N-No, it’s fine,” Sama replies, hopefully not too quickly. “I really don’t mind, I do laundry with my roommates all the time. Speaking of which, I’m gonna be late for my next lecture!” He taps his foot anxiously, standing very tensely in the new clothes. On the one hand, he didn’t want to miss his lecture. On the other, he didn’t want to ruin the clothes Hama let him borrow. After all, it’d be a waste to run back out in the storm without an umbrella, or to change right back into his wet clothes and show up soaked to the lecture. Oh, if only he hadn’t gone to his favorite bakery for lunch. Though if he didn’t, he wouldn’t have met Hama, this amazingly kind and surprisingly attractive man. The smaller part of his brain said to just skip the rush and hang out with Hama for a bit. The same Hama who had just returned from doing the laundry.

“Hey, it’ll be okay. With a storm this bad, I’d be surprised if your professor actually got mad at you. When I was in college, they were super forgiving for stuff like this. Accidents happen.” Hama’s words seemed to pierce through Sama’s curtain of anxiety and give him a small amount of relief. “Yeah, you’re probably right,” Sama agrees. “I just get so nervous doing stuff like this, leaving campus for lunch. But those chocolate chip croissants are just too good.” He chuckles, trying to mask his churning insides.

“Yeah, I love them! They’re so good,” Hama says brightly. He pauses, doing mental calculations. “Wait, did you run three whole blocks from there to here?” he asks, seeming a little worried. Hama was surprised Sama wasn’t sick from all that.

“Heh heh, yeah… I was trying to get back to campus,” Sama explains, rubbing the back of his neck, which still had his semi-damp hair clinging to it. “Then I realized that I wouldn’t make it and ducked into the nearest store I saw.” Sama’s explanation sounded a little weak when he said it, though it was true, likely due to his nervosity. But Hama seems to understand the wired air about Sama.

"Hey, don't worry. It happens," Hama says, smiling. "You can hang out here for as long as you like. Of course, not past closing, though, sorry." He chuckles a bit and rubs the back of his neck, which Samam found quite cute.

"Oh, really? Thanks, man." Sama looks around. "While I'm here, I might as well look around, right? What kind of stuff do you sell here?" He walks between rows of shelves as Hama follows him, explaining. "Well, mostly D&D stuff. But I do sell equipment and other TTRPG's, as well as some books and other fantasy/fiction type stuff. Gotta branch out, y'know." The words half register to Sama as he walks around, unkempt but thankfully clean fingers brushing boxes of minifigures and dice sets. "D&D? What's that?" Sama inquires, glancing up at Hama.

Hama's eyes widen a little, but he laughs. "Wow, I can't believe you've never heard of Dungeons and Dragons. It's a TTRPG- or Table-Top Role-Playing Game- that's basically a turn based story-telling adventure. You have the DM, or the Dungeon Master, to set up the story and guide the players, who interact with the story," Hama explains. He stops, blushing a little bit in embarrassment as he realizes he's rambling. "B-But that's just the general idea, I guess..." He trails off, looking over at Sama through his glasses, gauging the youger man's expression and reaction. He expects indifference, maybe disgust or a shrug and a "sounds cool".

However, Sama looks absolutely captivated. "Does it have rules?" He presses further. "Like, can the players and the Dungeon Master do basically anything as long as the rules technically allow it?" He seems totally on board, taking Hama by surpise.

"Y-Yeah, you can find them in the Player's Handbook and the Dungeon Master's Guide. They're just over there," Hama responds, pointing to another section. He's even more surprised when Sama immediately walks in the direction he's pointing.

"Wow, this stuff is seriously cool!" Sama exclaims as he flips through a book. "And you play this with friends?" He looks up at Hama, his amber eyes alight with curiosity and wonder. His intrigue is infectious, as Hama walks over.

"Yeah," Hama replies. "I play it with my friends a lot. You should join us some time." He notices the hesitant look on Sama's face and quickly adds, "B-But since you're new and you've never heard of it, we could probably do a solo campaign together some day if you're free. I can DM and show you the ropes." He pauses, blushing a tiny bit as he realizes how forward that sounds. "If- If you want to, of course. Later. Maybe in some indeterminate time, if you so desired..."

Sama also sees how unintentionally forward it was, and he grins, also a little flushed. "No, I'd love to play some time! I'm free next Saturday, the whole day," he says, though soon adding his reasoning as to also not appear overly eager. "If it takes a while, which I imagine it must."

"Heh, yeah, it does," Hama replies somewhat bashfully, as if sorry for taking up Sama's time. "Does 10:00 AM work for you?" He asks, already grabbing a notepad to make a schedule, scribbling on it as he seems Sama's nod of confirmation.

"Yeah, that's good. I'll bring snacks and the clothes back," Sama says as he makes a note in his phone. "In the meantime, can I buy the stuff I'll need?" He looks around at the shelves, wondering what a beginner would need. "We can use one of my sets first," Hama explains. "That way, if you decide it's not for you, you won't have spent seventy dollars on D&D stuff."

Sama nods again. "Cool, cool. Though, I think I wanna buy a dice set anyway. They look cool." He walks over to the dice shelf, picking out a set of dark red and dark purple swirled dice with gold lettering. "These caught my eye." Walking back to Hama, Sama finds the man already behind the counter.

"Ready to check out?" Hama asks kindly. "I remember my first dice set. Hopefully you'll get good use out of them." He rings up the item. "Twelve dollars and seventy-nine cents."

Sama pulls out thirteen dollars, handing them to Hama. "Keep the change," he says, trying very hard not to think about the way their hands brush as the money exchanges, and trying even harder not to blush as he maintains eye contact with Hama, who asks, "Would you like a bag?"

Hama's half-joking question snaps Sama out of the reverie. "No thanks," he replies. As Hama hands him the dice set, he barely registers the quarter glinting in the divot of the dice tube. "I'll, uh, see you Saturday, then," Sama says as he heads for the door. "Yeah, I'll see you here!" Hama replies, smiling as he waves softly.

Luckily, the rain had stopped in the time it took for Sama to change into the borrowed clothes, learn about D&D, and buy his dice. He walks down the street, and finally notices the quarter in the top of his dice tube. He laughs to himself. "That sly jerk. I'll just have to give him a nickel this Saturday..." Wondering how late he was and how many classes he had missed, and if Hama had been flirting, Sama walks quickly back to his college.

Hama, on the other hand, goes about tidying up his shop. Sama was a cute guy. Kind of nervous, but sweet and enthusiastic. Hama knew that if Sama got into D&D, he'd either be the best player ever, or a problem player. Hama though he would like it either way.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------Okay! That was a doozy of a first chapter. And the dark red and purple for the dice are #811310 and #241131 respectively for the hex code. I just took the names Hama (dark red, had to add the 0 on the end) and Sama (dark purple) and put the letters into numbers and the numbers into a hex code website. 2,182 words!

[almostangrything]

More Fanfic

Back to the Land of the Living (AU)

Not a oneshot. Warning: This story has some angst. 

     Neil couldn't believe it. Manny, his best friend, had found a way for them to get back to the living world. He was going to see his parents again. He hoped that they would be excited to see him again. But what if they weren't? What if they didn't want him back? What if they thought he was hideous? He had no face, after all. He had no eyes, but empty black sockets, though he could still see. He recently got a mouth when Manny took him to a Face Shop the previous month. It had small lines around the top and bottom lips because none of the mouths there worked for him. The shopkeeper, Joe, told them that with a special needle and black thread, Neil could sew on his own mouth. It was painful, but Neil went through with it.

      It was nice being able to talk. He didn't have to rely on crude sign language or Manny to translate his thoughts. Because Manny was a spirit, he could choose to hear Neil's thoughts, which could get a little annoying at times. But Manny never listened to Neil's thoughts unless Neil wanted to say something because he didn't want to be too invasive. But now Neil could talk! He was so happy. That night, Neil and Manny had a little celebration. Manny ended up getting super drunk and was messing with Neil all night long. Manny got super clingy when he was drunk, although he didn't get drunk often. Only when they were celebrating something. It was kind of adorable. Neil often thought about how to explain their friendship to an outsider, as an outsider. The best one he thought of was, "This is Neil. He enjoys his personal space. This is Manny. He also enjoys Neil's personal space."  Neil didn't mind being near Manny; he liked it when Manny hugged him or patted him on the shoulder. Enough thinking about Manny, Neil thought. I have to get ready to go see my parents. He walked to his bathroom and looked in the mirror. He picked up his comb and tried to make his short-ish but very messy black hair to lie flat. He wasn't able to do much. Whatever he tried, his hair would bounce right back up. Neil liked it that way, but his parents might not. Neil walked out of the bathroom and grabbed his cell phone. They had pretty good service in Morteville, which was where Neil and Manny lived.

      "Are you up yet sleepyhead?" Manny's voice came from outside Neil's door. "I'm coming, I'm coming," Neil said. He opened the door at the same time Manny did, and they ended up bumping into one another and toppling over on the floor. "Woah, careful!" Manny said, surprised. "Sorry Neil, didn't know you were coming out." "It's fine Manny," Neil replied, smiling. He liked to smile because he could now, ever since he made his mouth. He could tell that Manny liked it too. Manny's smile widened a bit when he saw Neil smile. Manny was almost always smiling. It was the default position for his wide mouth. Neil and Manny got some toast, and then left their house. They passed the gates of Morteville, and Neil could see a thick white mist in the distance. He knew it was going to be cold, even though he had his coat on. He shivered a little at the thought. Neil hated the cold.

      Manny must have seen Neil shiver, because he placed one of his long arms around Neil's shoulder as he floated along. Manny didn't have any legs, so he glided along through the air like a snake, with his long, serpentine body. Manny's head was pale like a skull, but the rest of his body was black, like Neil's hair. "How are we going to get to my parents again?" Neil asked. "We'll travel down the River of Souls in a boat," Manny replied cheerfully. They went along a grassy path for about fifteen more minutes, not saying anything. Neil didn't know what to talk about. Finally he asked Manny to tell him about the river. "Hey Manny, why do they call it the River of Souls?" "Well it's easy, Neil," Manny replied. "They call it the River of Souls because all the souls travel down it when going to other realms." "Ohhh. Yeah, that makes sense, I guess." They went along for another couple of minutes until Manny said, "Here we are! The River of Souls." "I don't see it, where is it?" Neil asked, confused. Just then, the fog lifted. Neil gasped as he saw the dark blue river, with thin, light blue foam swirled on top. "Woah. It's so...pretty," Neil said, amazed. "It sure is a sight, ain't it?" Manny said, pleased that Neil found the river to be cool. "Well, hop aboard the boat and let's go!" "What boat?" Neil was very confused. "This boat!" A wooden boat, big enough for the both of them to lie down in comfortably, rose out of the water. Of course. Neil hesitated. Manny was already on the boat, but Neil really didn't want to fall into the river. He took a deep breath and stepped onto the boat. "Ummm...Manny? Doesn't the boat need oars?" Neil asked, worried that this wouldn't work after all. "Oh, we don't need oars, Neil. This one is self propelling and self piloting!" Manny replied, giggling a little at Neil's confusion. "Are you ready to go see your parents again?" Neil thought for a second about all his worries and doubts concerning his parents. Finally he said, "Okay, I'm ready. Let's go."