#and...with that.....ive officially written and completed three fics in a row for one fandom

[strawbrymilkshake]

the true gift...is my presence

Dad!Reigen Week 2019 Day 4: Gifts || Baking

AO3 Description: Tome enlists Mob to help show her appreciation for Reigen. (4.2k words)

Tome let out a heavy sigh, her breath bunching up, dancing around and eventually fading in the early morning air. “Boy, is it hot out here or is it just me?”

Mob cast her a glance. She was currently bundled up in a puffy, oversized down jacket, with a scarf wrapped around her neck and a garishly coloured beanie pulled down to cover her ears. He was in a similar state, hands buried deep in his pockets and shivering to try to keep warm. He had heard a newscaster somewhere say that this was one of the most severe winters Seasoning City had ever faced.

“Are you too hot in your jacket, Tome?” 

She turned to him, and it was kind of awkward, her movements restricted. She chuckled dryly. “Ah, no. Nevermind.”

They went back to waiting in silence. Currently, they were in line outside of their local department store, bunched closely together between strangers, waiting for the doors to open at seven A.M. It was the second last weekend before Christmas, and Tome had insisted to Mob that they weren’t in any sort of hurry; they were waiting in line to mooch off the warmth of others more than anything else. 

“This is the last gift I have to buy,” she told Mob. She kept glancing in the direction of the doors, then checking her phone for the time. 6:59. They would open any second now.

Pocketing the phone away, still awkward in figuring out the manoeuvre while wrapped in her many layers, she turned fully to Mob. Before he could figure out if she wanted him to contribute in any meaningful way to her offhand comment, she continued. 

“I’ve already bought Serizawa’s gift,” she said. Her eyes were bright and her words were fast. “I got him a new pencil case and some stationery for the new school term. I think he’ll like it.” Mob smiled, amused at how Tome was now bouncing a little in her spot. “I got him this special pen that doubles as a highlighter. It’s really cool; I almost got one for myself. It’s in his favourite colour, too.”

Behind her, there was some commotion at the front doors. Mob looked over her shoulder to see that the line was now steadily streaming into the building, and that they would be swept up by the momentum any time soon.

“Ah, Tome—” he gestured behind her.

Tome looked back, and when she turned to Mob again, she had a wide, determined grin plastered across her face. “Alright, Mob! It’s time to do this!”

He nodded back, just as determined as she was, and together they marched squarely towards the doors.

The line wasn’t too long, and it wasn’t moving too quickly, either — Mob suspected that it would gradually grow bigger and more frantic as the days neared the twenty fifth, but for now it was mostly comprised of those just a bit too eager to wait until later in the day. He wouldn’t be surprised if many of the people there shared a similar personality to Tome’s. They were closer to the back of the line than the front, but in a few short moments they found themselves in the toasty, heated entrance of the store.

“It’s so nice in here,” he remarked to Tome. They had to hold their coats to adjust to the inside warmth, but it was worth it.

She nodded to him, her cheeks flush from the change in temperature. “Okay, first order of business.” At once she started down the pathway of the store, leading them further in between the items and aisles. Everything was decked out in golds, greens and reds, with tinsel glittering everywhere they looked. Mob followed close behind Tome. “If you were getting Reigen a gift, what would you buy him?”

Mob almost paused in his step, thrown off from the attention directed at him. He opened his mouth to give Tome a response, but quickly shut it when he realised that he had no real answer.

Following after her as they ambled through the store, he stopped paying attention to the countless goods, little trinkets and potential gifts lining the shelves either side of them. What would he get for Reigen? Surely, he’s gotten something for him in the past — he’s known him long enough. Although, Mob had never seen himself as one that was particularly good with gifts, so he feared that Tome may have made a mistake in bringing him along today for some help. Despite how well he knew Reigen, that didn’t make him any less unsure of what he would like to get during this season, if anything, he was more used to Reigen taking him on an ‘office holiday trip’ as an excuse to go out and eat dinner somewhere, rather than any sort of gift exchange. And besides, in the end did it really matter what Mob would hypothetically buy him? This gift was from Tome, wasn’t it? And wasn’t that the most important thing about gifts — who they came from and their own thoughts behind it?

Tome was getting impatient. “Well?”

Mob furrowed his brow. “Hm… I’m not sure.”

“What? How are you not sure? He was your master for so long!”

“Yeah, but we didn’t really do stuff like gifts. I guess he never expected me to give him one. I don’t think I ever have.”

“Not even for his birthday?” 

The answer was no, but Mob hesitated to tell her that. Was it a bad thing that he never bought gifts for his master? “Uh…”

Tome huffed, but not out of annoyance. “Well, that’s fine, I guess.” Mob let out a small sigh. “You can still tell me what he likes, though, right?”

He nodded. 

Mob thought it was a little fascinating that Tome could be working for Reigen for some eight months now and would still need to get his help on deciding what to buy for him. Reigen had been such an integral part of his life for so long now that he almost didn’t know how to flip that perspective, to see him through the eyes of someone new. Mob worked for him for years of his life, but he rarely saw him as often anymore; Tome hadn’t known him for as long, but she saw him just as regularly as Mob once used to. She saw what Reigen was like now, gaining access to any current changes and evolutions that Mob would no longer see as closely — he wondered, would either of them know Reigen better than the other? Was that a sort of thing you could properly judge?

He thought back to how well he knew Reigen when he was only eight months in. It seemed like ages ago; he was just a kid. Mob was so different to how he was now, too — back then, he never would have imagined that he’d have friends close enough to call him up like this out of the blue. He smiled to himself.

Over the next several minutes, the pair took to browsing throughout the store according to Mob’s suggestions and Tome’s insight on what would or wouldn’t make a good gift for Reigen. Mob didn’t know what he was expecting of the day when Tome called him up, but he found it was more of a relaxed, fun errand, or a conveniently situated catch up, rather than anything else. Tome was determined on making sure the gift for Reigen was just right, and Mob was more than happy to go along with the flow.

Eventually, conversation drifted outside of their primary mission.

“I’m not sure what to get Dimple,” Tome said once they made their way to the men’s clothes section. She was standing in front of a rack of ties, and picked up a brightly coloured, loud, green and red polka dot tie. She held it up to her neck as if to wear it. Mob snickered. “I don’t even think I’m supposed to get him something.” She walked up to a mirror, Mob by her side.

“It brings out your eyes,” he said.

Tome laughed, putting the tie away. “Should I get him something? Am I supposed to?”

Mob brought a hand to his chin, considering it. “Well…I think that if you really want to,” he started eventually, “you could get him some spirits to eat. Bring him to a place that’s really haunted.”

Tome’s eyes lit up. They started on their way from the clothes section, already having dismissed it without saying so out loud. They turned a corner. “Ohh, you’re right, Mob! That’s a really good idea!”

“What’s a good idea?” came a voice from in front of them.

Tome jumped, not just caught off guard, but completely startled. She didn’t quite scream from the surprise, but definitely yelped, before she took a second to calm down and realise who was standing in their way.

“Geez, Reigen,” she exhaled. “Don’t ever do that again.”

“Oh, sorry,” he said, but he was definitely smiling through it, “I didn’t know I’d scare you that much. Mob saw me, right?”

He hadn’t, but his reaction was much less dramatic than Tome’s had been. He blinked when he saw his old master, suddenly appearing right in the aisle where he and Tome had been searching for gifts for him, and panic rose slightly in him. Where did he come from? Were they caught? Was he going to find out what they were doing? Of course, Mob was happy to see Reigen again — it had been a while, after all — but showing up this unexpected, at this place, where Mob was certain he’d never seen Reigen before, was either some extremely apt or some extremely inappropriate timing.

“Hi, Master.”

“You can’t go around scaring people like that!” Tome chastised Reigen before Mob could speak any further.

“It’s nice to see you, too, Tome,” Reigen said, though he was putting his hands up in a show of mercy. Once he could tell that Tome was done with yelling at him, he slid his hands back in his pockets, taking in the two in front of him. “So, what’s up? What are you two doing here?”

Tome was suddenly ramrod straight in her posture. She turned to Mob silently. Mob looked at her. At that moment, all of her work into investigating telepathy started to gather in her head as she desperately tried to connect with Mob, trying to make sure he knew that Reigen was not to be privy of anything that occurred that day.

Mob stayed silent. Good.

“Are you guys on a date or something?”

Tome, her eyes still locked with Mob’s, winced a little bit.

“Uh…” Mob side-eyed Reigen.

“…Sure,” Tome finished. Hopefully, he wouldn’t question any further. 

He didn’t, thankfully, nodding as if the information was just idle small talk. And it sort of was, anyway. “Have you guys been enjoying the season so far? Mob, I haven’t seen you in a while, how are you?”

“I’m doing well, Master.” And he really was. He had been wanting to catch up with Reigen, considering his school term was coming to a break soon and he’d have more time to relax before his final days at middle school kicked in — with all the stress of everything coming to an end, and the new start of high school looming in his sights, it was a sort of comfort to fall back on and talk things out with his master. Except, maybe not now, when he was technically supposed to be conspiring with Tome behind his back. “What brings you here?”

It was Reigen’s turn to be silent. He looked at them for maybe a second too long, as if his brain was dealing with low buffering speeds, before something seemed to click in his head.

“Oh! Ah, well. You know.”

Apparently that something wasn’t very eloquent or well thought out. Reigen was now surreptitiously trying to avoid eye contact, and sweat was beading across what looked like each and every single one of his pores.

“I’m, uh— It’s, nice, in here and the sales, you know, they’re starting, so…” Tome and Mob stared at him blankly. “It’s helpful for my… Groceries…”

“You’re grocery shopping here?” Tome raised an eyebrow. “This is a department store.”

Reigen didn’t have an answer for a moment or two, but he looked calm enough about it. “Yeah. You’ll, uh…you’ll understand when you’re older.”

No one said anything for a few long seconds.

“Well!” Reigen started, suddenly clapping his hands together. “It was nice seeing you two. Mob, you should come over sometime so we can catch up. Tome, I know you’re never gonna leave me alone, so I guess I’m seeing you next week?”

Tome nodded. “Sure thing, Boss!”

“Alright then. I’ll catch you guys later.” Reigen nodded to them as one final goodbye, and started heading off in the direction he’d originally been going. Tome and Mob watched him leave, until he was out of sight, off somewhere deeper in the store they couldn’t see.

They turned to each other.

“Oh, my god!” Tome bent over, resting her hands on her knees. “What’s he doing here?”

“Probably shopping.”

Tome didn’t have a response, just groaned at the general direction of the ground. “We have to make sure we don’t run into him again.”

“Are you sure?”

Tome took a deep breath as she stood up straight, placing her hands on Mob’s shoulders. “Yes. We can’t ruin the surprise. So.” She pulled him just a little bit closer. “Can you keep an eye on him for me?”

“I thought I was supposed to tell you what gift he would like?”

“The plan’s changed. You’re the lookout now. I’ll be there to help, of course; you can keep an eye on Reigen from afar, and while you’re doing that, I’ll be stealthily looking for the perfect gift. We just have to wait until he leaves before we go to buy it, or we could run into him again. Got it?”

Mob nodded. 

“Okay, good. Let’s do this.”

They carried out the plan near perfectly; Mob quickly scouted out where Reigen was, and Tome made sure that he kept him in his sights at all times as they browsed the store from a distance. Any time it seemed that Reigen would spot them, they’d quickly turn and act like they couldn’t see him (“He’ll think it’s just coincidence that he can see us again. He won’t come over to talk to us. Let’s just…act natural… Oh, what a nice…fridge magnet… Is he still looking?”), but after five or six times of trying to look coincidentally busy, Mob wasn’t so sure on the plan anymore.

“Isn’t he going to get suspicious that he keeps seeing us? We’re always the same distance away, too.”

“It’s a small store, Mob. It’s not like we were never going to see each other again. We just have to wait him out.”

So, they did. Or, at least they tried to, since Reigen continued about the store for minutes upon minutes upon minutes more on end. Tome was browsing in the meantime, making use of Mob’s watching eye, but only really half-looking at the stock on the shelf. Nothing there seemed to be the right thing for Reigen. She’d have to come across something good eventually, right?

As the minutes dragged on, Mob’s certainty of the plan drew thinner. He gained Tome’s attention from where she was directing it at a pair of blue headphones decorated with stylised cat ears on top.

“Tome, it’s been almost twenty minutes. I don’t know if he’s leaving any time soon. And I’ve been watching him, he hasn’t picked up anything.”

“What?” Tome marched right up to Mob’s side, following his gaze to where Reigen was across the store. He was right; Reigen was empty handed. “Why didn’t you tell me that before?”

“Was I supposed to?”

Tome furrowed her brow and brought a hand to her chin. “No…but…”

Together they looked on at Reigen as he continued to idly browse. He wasn’t even really looking at anything; just strolling through the aisles and occasionally picking up something from a shelf before putting it back down. He did this for some time, wandering aimlessly through the store.

“Why’s he so weird?” Tome asked.

Mob didn’t have an answer.

“What is he doing?” Neither of them could make any sense of what Reigen’s main objective was, or if there even was one. “Okay, new plan,” Tome said. “Let’s just watch him for a bit and try to figure out what his deal is.”

Mob didn’t see how that was all too different from what they had just been doing, considering Tome hadn’t picked out anything they could even count as a gift. But he agreed anyway, and soon enough, the Let’s-Go-And-Find-Something-To-Buy-For-Reigen Plan turned into the Let’s-Spy-On-Reigen Plan.

A couple of minutes went by.

“He’s really not leaving, huh?” Tome deadpanned.

A couple more minutes went by, with Reigen getting no closer to the exit, and definitely getting no closer to making a purchase. Tome rubbed her temples.

“He’s not doing anything. He’s just…circling around the store,” she groaned.

“Isn’t that just what we’re doing?”

Tome’s shoulders dropped with a heavy sigh, and she stared off at some non-specific point on the ground, contemplating life. “Alright.” She snapped back upright. “I’ve had enough of this. We have to ask him what he’s doing.”

She was already marching off in his direction before Mob could agree.

They intercepted Reigen just as he was leaving the pet care section — who was he trying to fool with that? He didn’t even own a dog — and blocked him from going any further.

“Oh, hey again,” he started. “Fancy seeing you guys here.”

“Reigen,” Tome said, her tone more serious than it might have needed to be, “what are you doing?”

“Uh— What? What do you mean?”

“You know what I mean.”

“I don’t.”

“Yes, you do.”

“I assure you, I don’t.”

“I think you do know; perfectly well.”

“…Tome—”

“Master, why haven’t you bought anything yet?”

Reigen turned to Mob, dumb. He looked back to Tome, only to find her slowly narrowing her eyes, before turning back to Mob, who was waiting patiently for an answer. “Why do you want to know?”

“Hm,” Tome scoffed. “Suspicious answer.”

“Suspicious question!” Reigen rebutted. “Listen, what do you guys want? Do you want me to buy you something?”

“Oh, the opposite, actually—” Mob started, before being elbowed in the side.

“We want to know why you’re loitering in here!” Tome pointed an accusing finger at Reigen. “It’s been half an hour and all you’ve done is wander around the store.”

Reigen was quiet for some time, looking down on the two teenagers. For a second it seemed like he was going to play it off with some other quick remark, just to get these kids off his back from whatever weird scheme they’d been up to. But he was waiting too long, like he was going back over what the two had said, processing their words, their actions, their demeanours.

“Well,” he started, eyes dark — Mob recognised this expression from when they used to make house calls for exorcisms, when Reigen would give one last parting speech to whichever spirit in question. “If you really want to know why I haven’t bought anything, then why don’t you show me your purchases, huh? You’ve been here for the same amount of time I have, haven’t you? If  not — longer.” He was now stepping closer to them, leaning down slightly to get in their faces — mostly Tome’s. “Because, I’m pretty sure the last I heard, browsing wasn’t a crime!”

“It is if you’re being super shady!”

“You don’t know how crime works!”

“Well, I do know how— that you have been acting weird since we ran into each other!”

“What, have you been watching me? And I’m the one who’s being super shady?”

“Um, guys?” Mob interjected.

“What?” Tome and Reigen snapped simultaneously, both turning their heads to face Mob at once. 

He felt a bead of sweat forming on his forehead. “Just remember, we are in public…” He didn’t want them to disturb the other customers on their weekend morning shopping, some of whom were starting to cast glances over at the commotion. 

Reigen stood up straight with a clearing of his throat. He looked down at Tome, who now had her arms crossed, looking off to the side. He wouldn’t be surprised if she was grumbling under her breath. 

He clicked his tongue, then sighed, keeping himself restrained from rolling his eyes. “Tome, if it really means that much to you,” and he wasn’t sure why it did, anyway, “well… Here’s the thing.”

She was turned back towards him now, her interest piqued. 

With one last sigh, he pinched the bridge of his nose. “It was supposed to be a surprise, but…”

“A surprise?” Well, at least it got Tome in a better mood.

“Yeah.” He paused again, considering his words. “So, Serizawa had the idea of throwing an office party for the holiday, and you could invite your friends, and everyone would come over and hang out…” He sucked in a breath between his teeth. “I was supposed to get the decorations, but I might have left it a little last minute? But not entirely last minute, because—! Wait, when does your break start?”

“Next week,” Tome said.

“Okay, so, it turns out I left it last minute, and I really only had time to get it done today, so… I was just kinda…hoping you guys would leave so I could buy this stuff without you noticing.”

“Oh! We were doing that, too,” Mob told Reigen.

Slowly, like she had rust in her joints, Tome pivoted in her spot to stare, eyes wide and mouth in a thin line, right into Mob’s soul. Panic dawned in his eyes. He began to mouth an apology, before Reigen spoke up.

“Is that why you guys have been acting so weird?”

Tome was still in ‘death glare’ mode as she looked at Reigen. “We haven’t been acting weird at all, Reigen. What’s happened here is that I also wanted to leave something a surprise,” she gave a look back at Mob who only grimaced, “but it seems I’ll have to play the hand I’ve been dealt.” She took a deep breath, as if steeling herself. “Mob and I came here today because I wanted to buy something — also last minute — to gift to you this season. I’ve already bought gifts for my friends at school, and for Serizawa, and I wanted to bring Mob along to help me buy something for you, too. To be honest, I had no idea what to get you. And, yeah, we were kinda spying on you… We wanted you to leave so you wouldn’t see the gift and ruin the surprise.”

“Ah,” Reigen said. His voice was a little soft. “I see.” He sniffled.

Tome was incredulous as she looked up at him. “Are…you okay?”

“Yep,” his voice cracked. He coughed. “Uh, Tome… You didn’t have to do that.”

“I wanted to, though.”

“That’s very sweet of you. Thank you, too, Mob.”

Mob was mostly watching this from the sidelines, wondering if Tome was still mad at him. He gave a small nod to Reigen.

“Honestly…the fact that you tried so hard to figure out what gift I would like is a gift enough, you know. I’m more than happy for that to be my present.”

“But—!” Tome protested. “I already bought gifts for everyone else! I can’t just exclude you from that!”

Reigen furrowed his brow, deep in thought. “Okay…how much money do you have? Oh, wait, I’m not supposed to ask that, am I? Okay, then…how long did you tell your parents that you were gonna be out?”

Tome and Mob looked at each other. “Uh…”

“At least before dark, I’m assuming?”

Tome shrugged yes.

Reigen brought his hands together. “Okay. So. Here’s what we’re gonna do. You two are gonna help me with these decorations, and make it look like I put more than just a week’s thought into them, and then after that…” He brought a hand to his chin, finalising his plan. “We can spend as long as you want in the mall, and do anything as long as it’s within my price range. How’s that for my gift?” He smirked, putting his hands in his pockets definitively.

“So,” Tome spoke with consideration, sounding everything out slowly, “your gift would just be us…saving your ass?” She turned to Mob. “Haven’t you got a little tired of that by now?”

Mob looked between Tome and Reigen, and smiled. “What’s wrong with one last time?”

Eventually, the three of them left the department store together, some many, many minutes after they had entered, arms all the more heavier from the bags swinging in their hands.