#tobirama x aquarela

[mylittlesyn]

Pick 2 of your OCs to answer 6 and 8 about both!!!

So someone else actually requested to answer #6 for everyone so here I will answer #8.

Do they collect anything? If so what and why?

So Aquarela has moved around a lot, and she collects keys. She's forgetful with her ADHD so she always had spares of where she was renting at the time. She never planned to use them for anything, just as momentos of all the places she used to live.

Akina collects old school bikes/bike parts. She doesn't really watch TV or anything like that and would rather spend time doing things with her hands. She's a fine of bikes so she scrounges up for parts to rebuild bikes. I don't know that it really counts as collecting seeing as how once a project is done she would gift it to one of the girls in her gang but... She certainly does collect the parts to use them.

[mylittlesyn]

Chapter 3: August 13, 2020 & August 16, 2020

Premise: Aquarela decides to pay a visit to the art exhibit that Tobirama recommended whilst high... Only to run into Dr. Senju himself.

TW: Just the weed tbh. This entire fic is pretty much good vibes. Although questionable power dynamics I suppose but trust it's not anything sketchy or sleazy.

Masterpost

August 13, 2020

I walked into Tobirama’s office like he said I could. He was a little surprised at first and seemed to have been working on something, but he put it aside and gave me his attention. I was having issues with packaging. He asked me if I verified the plasmid, which not going to lie, of course I did and I was a little offended he asked. The inserts were there. Everything was the right size. He then asked about the plasmid size as a whole, which, that I didn’t check because why would I need to? Turns out the insert tail ends made it so it inserted into the ITRs twice. He thought my brainstorming methods were amusing. Especially the part where I answer my own question before I give him a chance to think. 

He was studying me so closely the whole time… It was pretty strange… But he was also smiling a little baby smile? That’s good, right? 

August 16, 2020

**** TW**** OFC smokes weed? Here just in case.

So I went to the dispensary today, and got a vape. Indica main but also hybrid. It’s called blue cookies or something. It was nice. I did some of that and then I went to see the impressionist exhibit that Tobirama had mentioned… Only to see him there. While high… That was interesting…

I feel kinda warm… It’s nice… Ah… I suppose this sign that says impressionist would be what I was looking for. Walking into a separate room with walls painted a deep red, there were paintings lining the walls. The first one that caught my eye was one of a toddler seated at a table. What caught my eye was that they had no eyes, just black circles where their eyes should be. It was a little creepy honestly. I found myself leaning in, staring at those eyes that were nothing but black holes, unable to look away. From there I noticed the strokes, how you can tell the thickness and rigidness of the brush based on the markings left behind from each movement of the artist’s hand. Pierre Bonnard… He seems a bit twisted to paint a child like this.

“Doctora Juarbe?” I heard a familiar voice call my name and based on the formality, I froze. “Doctora Juarbe… I didn’t expect to see you here.” He mentioned as I subtly tried to smell my hair. Doesn’t smell like weed. I think I might be ok. 

“Tobirama!” I chimed with a wide grin while looking at this tall, handsome man. He wore his usual black turtleneck, though this time with white slacks and a black belt. His sleeves were already rolled up this time, exposing his forearms, and I noticed a rather large gold watch on his wrist. “I can say with certainty that I was not expecting to run into you either.” I assured him before shoving my hands into my high waisted short pockets… When I realized the tightness of them showcase my vape as I felt it with my fingertips. 

“Yes… I see you were admiring the Bonnard here.” He pointed out with his own hands in his pockets. 

“Admiring would imply I like it. I don’t…” I chuckled a couple times before looking back at the painting and shuddering. 

“What about it do you not like?” He wondered as he neared to stand beside me and look at the painting himself. 

“Honestly, it’s the eyes. They freak me out.” I explained while stealing a glance to look into those brick red eyes. 

“Are you alright? You’re acting rather… Strange.” He observed and I felt the blood drain from my face. “There. You seem rather pale.” He remarked and I quickly looked away back to the painting. 

“I’m going to tell you something that I hope you don’t hold against me, because I would never do this at work nor would I let it influence my performance.” I warned to then peek at him from the corner of my eye, seeing his brows furrow as he grew serious. “I’m under the influence right now and your commanding presence is making me a bit nervous.” I explained. 

“Day drinking…?” He asked with a disapproving tone. 

“Eh, no.” I clarified while pulling my vape out of my pocket and showing it to him.

“Ah.” His brows raised and he quickly nodded while I put the vape away. “I see. Another thing you seem to have in common with my brother.” He commented while looking back to the painting. 

“Tobirama… Have you smoked weed before?” I teased with a large grin while rocking back and forth on my heels. 

“No!” He snapped while looking to the opposite side of where I was standing, his ears bright red. I gasped with my hands over my mouth. 

“You’ve at least tried it!” I squealed while nudging his side with my elbow to have him grab my arm. 

“I need you to stop and be quiet.” He hissed while clenching his jaw. With his angered demeanor, I kept trying to stop myself from smiling as I let my arm dangle in his grip. 

“I will bring this up again.” I warned to hear him click his tongue, toss my arm aside and watch him cross his arms over his chest. 

“It’s not the influence that has you finding this painting disturbing?” Tobirama teased back as his shoulders loosened while wearing a smug smile. 

“No…” I retracted my head back while looking at the painting. “I’m pretty sure I’d still find it disturbing.” I moved onto a painting titled “Playing Catch” that was also by Bannard. There I admired the architecture of the building and the simplicity of the way he painted the plants. 

“Anything disturbing about this one?” Tobirama joked, still wearing that small smug smile. 

“No… I’m just looking at the brush strokes.” I mumbled while leaning in to observe the details of the portrait. 

“You’re genuinely enthralled.” He spoke with slight surprise in his tone, to which I furrowed my brows while giving the painting one last look.

“I spent my entire childhood looking at paintings in this manner, which I already told you about.” I commented while pulling away from the painting to look up to Tobirama who seemed to be observing my every move. “I’m not sure why you’re so surprised.” I shrugged while putting my hands in my pockets. 

“I’ve just never met someone who appreciates both art and science the way you do… I do…” He mumbled more so to himself, and when he realized he spoke out loud and that I heard him, I watched his blush come back all the way to his ears and to the little bit of neck I could see. I pursed my lips and blushed myself as I walked away from him to look at the next painting that caught my eye. This one was by Modigliani, title “Venus.” The lines for the body of the nude woman were all elongated, and peculiarly, she was cupping one of her breasts while hiding her sex. “What are you thinking about this one?” Tobirama asked, now at my side again. 

“Just interesting how elongated he makes everything.” I answered while leaning back to look at the other paintings. “Why don’t you give me your opinion for once?” I accused while raising a brow. He turned to me with his eyes slightly widened before putting his own hands in his pockets and looking down at the floor before looking back up to the painting. 

“Her eyes… He manages to capture a certain vulnerability in them.” He commented while pointing to her eyes. I peered into them while leaning forward, studying the blue hued strokes. 

“I see it.” I responded after a moment. 

“You do? You seemed very technical when looking at the paintings thus far…” He remarked and I scoffed. 

“Just because I like to observe the different stylistic renditions of each artist doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate what they were trying to capture in the painting itself.” I explained with a raised brow while he looked down at his feet… Was he… Ashamed? “How about we go get an early dinner together?” I suggested. His eyes lifted to mine and his lips parted slightly before he looked to the watch on his wrist. 

“I need to make a call quickly first.” He told me, and when I nodded, he went off to a far corner of the exhibit. I wandered over to look at one of Vulliard’s paintings, observing the contrasting hues of the dark blues from the woman’s dress and the bright reds of the brick. “.... I ran into someone…” I heard Tobirama say to whomever he was speaking to, and when I stole a glance I noticed him looking at me. “Hashirama!” He snapped while turning on his heel to face away from me. “That’s quite enough.” He grumbled, trying to contain his anger while avoiding the gazes of others as he lowered his head. “I will talk to you tonight… Hashi-” He looked at his phone and hung up, taking a moment to himself before coming over to me. “I apologize for that. Where would you like to eat, Dr. Juarbe?” 

“Call me Aquarela.” I demanded with a smile while his lips tightened. “Go on. Call me Aquarela.” I taunted while placing my hands into the pockets of my leather jacket. 

“Where would you like to eat… Aquarela?” He spoke each word cautiously, but when he spoke my name with his Colombian accent, my cheeks were surely turning pink. My heart felt warmed and I knew I held a goofy smile, but I couldn’t bring myself to care. 

“I’m not sure. I’m still learning the locale.” I pointed out to watch him nod. 

“Well what type of food would you like? There’s pasta-”

“Pasta!” I interjected excitedly. 

“Yes… Pasta it is then.” He agreed with a small smile, motioning for me to walk ahead outside. I walked along ahead and he quickly caught up to walk beside me, the back of his hand brushing against mine as we went. Goosebumps trailed up my arm with my cheeks getting a little rosy. I walked up to my Harley and stood before it. “Where’s your car?” He asked while looking around in other directions. 

“Right here.” I told him while walking up and slapping the warm leather bike seat. “Why else would I wear a leather jacket in August when there’s a high of 80 degrees?” I teased with a smile while watching his brows raise. 

“Should you be riding while under the influence…?” He questioned cautiously. 

“If anything it’ll help me from going over the speed limit.” I joked while straddling my 883 Harley and placing my hands lazily on the handle bars. 

“I’d much rather drive you. Once you sober up I can drive you to your bike and you can ride it home.” Tobirama spoke in a stern commanding tone with the slightest hint of concern spread across his face. His forearms flexed, exposed from the pushed up sleeves of the black turtle neck he wore with his arms across his chest. 

“Alright. If you insist.” I hummed while getting off of my bike to start following him to the nearby parking lot to find his car. We quickly came up to his Audi, where I sat up front beside him. 

“So you ride motorcycles?” He asked, trying to make conversation. 

“Yeah my great uncle taught me when I went home for winter break my first year of grad school. He rode for over 35 years. I saved up during grad school and bought one shortly after arriving down here. Managed to find it used at a good price with low milage. Got lucky really.” I elaborated a bit as he started pulling out of the parking lot. 

“It’s dangerous. Why would you do something like that?” He sneered, but I just huffed a chuckle. 

“A lot of things are dangerous. I do it because…” I shrugged. “Freedom.” 

“Does it really feel that freeing?” I raised his brow while continuing to watch the road. 

“It does.” I assured him with a small smile he couldn’t see. “So tell me Tobirama, when did you try weed?” I giggled while asking him to watch him grip tighter onto the steering wheel. “Awe come on… I won’t talk about yours if you don’t talk about mine.” I sang. “Just a little mutually assured destruction is all I’m asking for.” 

“You do have a way of lightening things up.” He mentioned with his shoulders relaxing before a quiet chuckle while I waited in anticipation. “It’s Hashirama. Once in a while… When he won’t shut up about it.” He grumbled. “When I’m overworked and highly stressed, he convinces me to have a bit. Usually food. Usually I’m tricked. But it helps.” He confessed with the slightest tinge of pink on his cheeks as I giggled away. 

“You should really try some and then going to see art, it really makes you see it in a whole new light.” I suggested, but he shook his head.

“I’d be far too paranoid that someone would be able to tell that I’m under the influence.” He explained. 

“Of course you’d be the paranoid type.” I muttered under my breath. “Maybe you can come to my apartment, smoke a bit and look at my mother’s paintings. There’s an impressionistic quality to them, at least in terms of the color palette.” I recommended to hear him hum happily. 

“That sounds nice… I am sure it would be quite the experience.” He hummed more while I grew the cheesiest smile.

“Tobirama… Did you just agree to come to my home alone ?” I teased to watch his grip on the steering wheel tighten while he clenched his jaw. 

“I did no such thing!” He snapped. “I merely suggested it would be enjoyable if I were to.” He huffed and just looked so damn adorable that I couldn’t help but have my giggles turn into laughter. My laughing only made his grip tighten further as his ears started to turn red. “Why are you laughing?!” He shouted. 

“Because…” I tried my best to calm myself. “You just look so damn cute huffing and puffing like that.” I told him while admiring those lovely pink cheekbones of his to then notice his parted lips. That’s when I realized what I had said, and that’s when I quickly looked out the window. Did I really just say that outloud to him? I cleared my throat quickly and looked up at the road ahead. “Where are we going?” 

“There’s a place called Cucina just out of the park here. It’s a nice modern italian place. I believe you’ll enjoy it.” He mentioned just as he started to pull into an open spot, parking on the street. “It’s just up ahead.” He pointed to a business that seemed to have tables outside, so after a nod I got out of the car. It was starting to get pretty bright and sunny out, so I shrugged off my jacket and carried it over my forearm while walking toward the restaurant. Tobirama joined me by my side after I held open the door for him, and we waited for the hostess to come seat us. The place appeared to be rather crowded, but once the hostess noticed us, she came over to us, grabbed a couple menus, and had us follow her to a booth where the seats were either stools or a bench at the windowsill. Without realizing it, we had both chosen to sit on the bench, and we ended up sitting next to each other. My arm brushed against his as I reached for the menu, I could feel myself blushing as I tucked my hair behind my ear. 

“This seems like a homey place.” I commented while looking over the menu. 

“They have a fantastic wine selection. Why don’t you have a glass with me?” He suggested as he looked down the wine list. 

“I don’t drink when I ride. Too risky.” I explained while deciding on the ricotta spinach agnolotti. 

“I’ll pay for an uber for you to take back home.” He offered, and when I turned to him I noticed he was watching me. His eyes wandered along my face, initially expectant until they settled on my lips. 

“If you’d like me to join you that badly, then you can pay for another one for me to get my bike in the morning.” I teased with a smirk. His eyes lifted to meet mine and I watched as he nodded. 

“I can do that.” He agreed, so I decided to push further while biting the corner of my lower lip, which only caused him to look at them again. 

“I should probably have your cell phone number in case you forget, this way I can remind you.” I teased again as I reached into my jeans back pocket to pull out my cell phone. Once I unlocked it, I switched to contacts and pressed to add a new one before sliding the phone to him. He took the phone and when he placed it back onto the table, I noticed a number saved under the name Dr. Senju. I grabbed the phone and edited the contact to change his name to Tobirama, placing it on the table so that he could see that I changed the name. 

“Your attempting to maintain formalities is starting to get futile, dontcha think?” I hummed with a smile while leaning on my arm that was next to his, when he turned to me, his face was close enough for me to feel his breath on my face. My eyes traced along his curiously red eyes, his cheekbones, his jawline, his lips… 

“Yes… It would appear so.” He hummed back with his eyes wandering as well. I startled a bit when he finally cleared his throat to go back to looking at the wine list, so I started to look now myself. 

“Are you paying? Because I don’t think I could afford more than one glass with my postdoc slave labor salary.” I joked, trying to hold back snickers. 

“The price isn’t per the glass, it’s per the bottle, but I was planning on paying… Yes.” He clarified.

“Ah. That does indeed change things.” I mentioned while looking at the wine list again. 

“I think a Sangiovese for the table?” He suggested and horrible memories came back. 

“Oh no, I remember trying one of those wines, they pride themselves on their ‘earthy taste’ but really it just tastes like dirt. I am not having that.” I warned him while I listened to his hearty chuckle. 

“I’ve never heard anyone describe it quite like that. You seem to know your wine.” He remarked with a smile. “What would you suggest then?” 

“I mean for reds, I typically like merlot blends and cabernets, but I’m planning on having the ricotta spinach, so I was planning on having a white. That being said, I’m not opposed to a red.” I clarified. 

“How about this Bordeaux? It’s a cabernet merlot blend.” He pointed at the wine on the menu and I nodded. 

“Sure, I’ll try it. Sounds nice enough.” I told him while running my finger along the listing on his menu. 

“And what would the cute couple like to drink?!” The waiter with a brunette man bun chimed with his hands clasped. We both cleared our throats and I moved a bit away from him. 

“We’re not…” 

“We are not…” We both spoke at the same time, looking at each other when we did, blushing in embarrassment. “We’ll have the merlot/cabernet blend Bordeaux, and we’d like that ahead. She’d like the ricotta spinach agnolotti and I’d like the short rib pappardelle.” 

“Alright, I’ll come back with the wine right away.” The server left with our order. 

“I can speak for myself.” I teased. “I know I joked about slave labor, but I do have an actual voice that goes with it.” 

“If it were up to me, I would pay you more, but with my advisors, they want me to use the system to our advantage.” He mentioned offhandedly with a raised brow while peering at me from the corner of his eye. 

“Spoken like any other rich millionaire.” I joked while peering back at him, resting my mouth against my fists with my elbow placed next to his. 

“Is being a millionaire something you disapprove of?” He questioned with his smile fading. 

“Why? What would happen if I did?” I wondered with a playful tone. He started fidgeting a bit with his fingers while staring at them, the air felt a little more solemn. “Why are you seeking my approval?” My words had him instantly tensing, stopping with his fidgeting. 

“I am doing no such thing!” He snapped while turning to me, his face reddened while I failed at holding back snickers. His lips parted as his face relaxing, though the redness didn’t fade as he realized I was merely teasing him about it. He looked away with a small smile, though his cheeks were still read. 

“Are you albino?” I blurted only to purse my lips, realizing that that could’ve been a bit insensitive of me to ask. The waiter brought over the wine, uncorked it, and poured a taste for the both of us into two glasses they brought over. I took the wine, smelled it, swirled it, smelled it again, and then tasted it. It was full bodied and fruit forward, exactly what I look for in a red wine. “It’s good.”

“Yes, thank you.” Tobirama agreed while the server served us a full glass before heading back off. “To answer your question.” He sighed. “Yes, I am albino.” 

“I’m sorry… That was rather insensitive of me to ask. I was just curious, you have such peculiar eyes.” I finished with a murmur, trying to meet his gaze, but he continued to look away while taking a sip of the wine. 

“Yes… My eyes are a bit of a sensitive topic for me. They were the target for many jokes made about me when I was younger.” He explained after a sigh and nearly finished with a grumble before taking a large gulp of his wine without making eye contact. 

“Red is my favorite color.” I blurted dreamily while still staring at him, hoping for his eyes to meet mine. Once he heard my words, he looked my way and I realized finally what I had said. Blinking a few times while I processed my embarrassment as heat rose to my cheek, I noticed Tobirama blushing as well. Quickly looking away, I took a sip of the wine and swirled it after putting it down. “Let’s play, never have I ever.” I suggested while staring at the wine swirl in the glass. 

“Never have I ever?” He asked with disbelief, and when I turned to see his expression, his brow was raised. 

“Yeah, do you know it?” I wondered.

“Yes of course, but you want to play a college drinking game with a bordeaux?” He asked before he started clenching his jaw with a look of disappointment. 

“Yes, because this way I get to know you without you having to say anything. Also, anything you admit to, I’m not allowed to ask about… Tonight anyways.” I taunted while studying his reactions. He shed a small smile before nodding. 

“Alright. I’ll let you start.” He declared. 

“Never have I ever been CEO of a major company.” I declared with a smirk while I watched him sip the red wine.

“That’s a tad targeted, wouldn’t you agree?” He mentioned with a small smile. 

“I just wanted to make sure you were playing seriously.” I explained while I inched my forearm next to his, resting it beside him. 

“Never have I ever kissed a boy.” He watched me take a sip of the wine. 

“Never have I ever kissed a girl.” I spoke to then drink a sip with him while he watched with a raised brow. He pursed his lips for a moment while looking down at my lips as I continued to study his reaction, and when he noticed I was still watching him, I saw his cheeks turn pink slightly before looking straight ahead. 

“Never have I ever… been to a nude beach.” He told me while I hesitantly lifted my glass. 

“It wasn’t a nude beach, but I was nude at the beach… Should I drink?” I wondered while looking at him to see his brow raised and his cheeks pink, avoiding my gaze. 

“Yes, I think you should.” He nodded while watching me from the corner of his eye. With that I lifted the glass and took a sip. 

“Never have I ever had sex in the lab.” I spoke plainly while taking off my leather jacket. It wasn’t until I had finished taking it off that I noticed him place his glass back onto the table. Raising my eyebrows, I looked up to him while he looked in the other direction. “Tobirama! You dirty dog!” I commented while I watched his jaw clench and unclench. I bit the corner of my lower lip as I watched him place delicate fingers around the rim of his wine glass. 

“Never have I ever driven over 100 miles per hour.” He grumbled while I took a sip of my drink. 

“Never have I ever…” I trailed off while trying to think of something I hadn’t done. “Played strip poker.” I sat and waited for his response. After a long moment, he lifted his glass and took a sip. “My my, you’re so adventurous, Tobirama.” I teased. 

“You said you wouldn’t say anything!” He snapped, which only made me giggle as I watched his ears turn red. 

“I said I wouldn’t ask about anything.” I corrected while trying to hold back a smile. 

“It was in college.” He grumbled while staring at his wine. 

“So the lab sex wasn’t? Do I need to worry about something if I show up to work on the weekends?” I teased and watched as he clenched his jaw. “Aw come on, I’m just teasing you!” I told him while rubbing his bicep. “I don’t want you to get mad, I just… You really amuse me Tobirama.” I hummed and watched as he turned slowly to me. 

“I’m glad I could be a source of amusement.” He spat before taking a large gulp to finish off his glass of wine before pouring himself the next. 

“Tobirama, come on… I don’t mean it like that. I like you Tobirama, I like spending time with you, that’s why I want to get to know you.” I explained while I rested my hand on his shoulder with my body turned towards him, watching him pour away. 

“Maybe you shouldn’t.” He grumbled while gripping tightly onto the glass. 

“Must be lonely at the top… Nobody can be your friend because of arbitrary power dynamics…” I contemplated while running my finger tips along his shoulder before letting it rest on it once more. 

“I’m sorry, I understand that you mean well and that you are simply poking fun… But… Your opinion of me seems to matter to me for reasons that I’m not quite sure I understand. Perhaps it is because you’re the shiny new acquisition for my company.” He mentioned while leaning back off the table to rest his palm behind us. I mimicked his seating with a raised brow. 

“Gee way to make me feel like an object.” I joked with sarcasm to have his eyes dart between both of mine. His hand left the wine glass and his fingertips traced along my jaw. 

“You are far more than anything I could have ever hoped for.” He spoke in an almost mesmerized manner while staring at my lips. My heart flutter and I felt my cheeks grow warm, only to have him retreat and clear his throat. “Never have I ever gone through my partners text messages.” He hummed while I straightened, not drinking. 

“I respect my partner’s privacy.” I commented. “Never have I ever used a fake ID.” I declared and watched him take a sip. “Those wild college years again?” I teased while elbowing him to watch his small smile form. 

“Never have I ever flashed someone.” He spoke, and I quietly drank the rest of my wine, staring at the glass as he filled it. 

“Wild college years?” He wondered.

“Gradschool actually.” I clarified while still not looking at him. 

“You would’ve just turned 21 when starting grad school, correct? That’s rather young.” He asked offhandedly. 

“Isn’t it illegal for you to know my age?” I questioned with a raised brow while resting my head in my hand that was leaning on the table. 

“Humor me.” He pleaded while donning a tiny grin. 

“Yes. I was.” I agreed while he poured me another glass of wine. “How old are you?” 

“I thought it was illegal for us to know each other’s ages.” He retorted with a smug smile as I took a sip of my wine. 

“Clever. Humor me.” I used the words against him the way he used mine against me. 

“I am 36.” He answered plainly to then take a big gulp of wine. 

“That’s rather young to be the CEO/CSO of a large biotech company.” I pointed out to have him huff a chuckle. 

“Touché. So that’s about ten years between us.” He hummed while lost in thought.

“Yes… I’m not unfamiliar with larger age gaps.” I mentioned with my leg brushing against his as my cheeks turned pink. 

“What do you mean?” He asked with his eyes searching for mine. 

“I believe the largest age gap with a man I dated was... 9 years.” I explained before taking a sip of my wine. 

“Ah… I see.” I pursed my lips as he took a sip of the wine while the server came by with our food. They placed the food before us and went back towards the bar while the air grew tense between us.

“I’m sorry if that was strange of me to say, I simply wanted to express that our age difference doesn’t mean anything to me.” I elaborated nervously to see his stonewalled face while he picked at his food a bit. 

“It is quite alright. I understand.” He mentioned before picking up his fork and starting to eat his food. Things still felt a little tense and unsettled as I started to eat the food. Why’d I have to open my big mouth??? The food however, was amazing. Everything was so rich and creamy and just exactly what my munchies were craving. I quickly started eating more of the pasta, fully diving into it as Tobirama and I continued to bump elbows, stealing glances at each other when we did, smiling to ourselves as we did. The tension seemed to fade the more our arms brushed together, and I felt a sense of relief consume me. He ordered another bottle as we finished off our glasses and the rest of the wine, feeling a little hazy from the alcohol and the remnants of the high from earlier. When I finished, Tobirama was still only halfway done with his food. “Seems you thoroughly enjoyed it.” Tobirama commented and I couldn’t help but chuckle. 

“Yeah, it was great.” I hummed while drinking more of my wine. 

“Would you like some dessert?” He suggested and my mind instantly went to some ice cream. 

“Yes! But they don’t really have what I would want here.” I mentioned to watch him slowly nod. “But you continue eating, of course! Take your time.” I gave him my best smile and watched him finish his meal. 

“You’re staring.” He commented and I jumped a bit in place and turned back to my wine, feeling my face turn red in embarrassment. 

“I’m sorry.” I mumbled under my breath to then watch his hand ghost over mine before… Patting it… Gently. 

“It’s fine. There’s no need to dwell on it. I will take you to my favorite ice cream shop after this.” He told me with a light tone, and that’s when I noticed him staring at me now. It wasn’t something I minded though. 

“I bet your favorite flavor is mango.” I guessed with a playful tone to watch him pout a bit. “Oh no! I actually got it right?” I whined a bit with a chuckle. 

“Am I that predictable?” He grumbled before finishing up his last bite. 

“No… Not that predictable. It was just a good perceptive guess.” I assured placing my hand by his as it settled, daringly placing my pinky over his. I noticed him look towards our hands, but he didn’t move it. The mere touch was electric and I felt so elated. I looked up to him and noticed his cheeks were furiously red and his ears matched. His eyes met mine and in that moment it felt like nothing else mattered. Nobody else existed. It was just him and I in this intense stare where my heart was racing. My eyes slowly traced down to his lips and in my periphery I could see he was staring at mine. 

“Would you like any dessert?” The server asked, snapping us up both from our thoughts with Tobirama quickly clearing his throat and moving his hand away. 

“No, just the check please, thank you.” Tobirama replied while the server nodded and headed off. “What’s your favorite flavor then?” 

“Double fudge brownie.” I smiled while finishing off the wine to have Tobirama pour me what was left in the bottle. 

“That is a good choice.” He agreed as he held up his wine glass. We both took a sip to then have the server bring by the check. 

“Thank you for dinner. It was truly lovely.” I told him as he placed a black card in the little booklet with the check. 

“Of course. I… Enjoy our time together as well.” He confessed while looking straight ahead to then finish off his wine. His words made my heart flutter as I drank some of the wine while the server took the check away. Moving the glass in circles, I watched the wine swish away as my cheeks turned positively red. “How is the research going?”

“I stayed a little late yesterday, but I reconstructed the plasmid and this time, no double ITRs.” I mentioned. 

“Make sure you register the overtime. You might be at a post-doc salary now, but this isn’t gradschool…” He remarked while I took another sip of the wine. 

“It was only a half hour.” I told him while waving him off. 

“That’s still a half hour. Put it in. I mean it.” He spoke with such a serious tone, if it wasn’t for the kindness behind his words, I would’ve been a bit intimidated. 

“You’re a good boss.” I responded with a smile before finishing off the wine as the server brought back the check. After Tobirama signed, he fiddled with his phone for a moment and then looked to me. 

“Thank you for saying that. Are you ready?” He asked while standing up, and after I put my jacket back on, I got up off of the bench and followed him out of the restaurant. Pulling my vape out of my pocket, I breathed in deep and took a hit. 

“Would you care to partake?” I offered with the smoke exhaling my lips as I held the vape up to Tobirama, but he held up his hand and shook his head. 

“No thank you. As I mentioned, I don’t usually partake.” He explained while looking at his phone. 

“So where are we going?” I asked while looking at the street as I shoved my hands and the vape into my pockets. 

“I ordered an uber to take us. It should be here any minute.” He explained before placing the phone into his pocket while a black car pulled up. Tobirama opened the door for me. “After you.” He motioned for me to sit in, so I slid into the car with him coming in after. It was the first time of the night that I noticed his scent. The jasmine, sandalwood, the slight sweet musk… I closed my eyes and rested my head back, nearly having it fall to the side and onto his shoulder from a little bump we took. The ride to the place was short, called something about homemade ice cream. Once inside, I ran up to the ice cream flavors in search of the one I was truly looking for. “Fudge brownie for her-”

“No actually, I’d like cookie dough.” I interjected quickly. 

“Would you like two scoops?” He asked while looking down to me with his hand lightly placed on my upper back. I hadn’t thought about two scoops. 

“Uhhh…. Sure. One cookie dough, one brownie.” I nodded to myself before looking up at the employee behind the counter. “In a waffle cone please!” I chimed. 

“I’ll take one scoop of mango.” He mentioned and I couldn’t help but giggle as they handed me my ice cream. “In a cup.” Tobirama clarified as the employee grabbed a cone to then cautiously put it back and grab a cup. I started to lick the scoop of fudge brownie, spinning the cone, twirling my tongue around the scoop, enjoying the rich chocolate sweetness. 

“Sir.” The employee called out, it was then that I noticed Tobirama had been staring at me. 

“Yes.” Tobirama cleared his throat and reached for the ice cream before reaching into his wallet and handing the employee the same black card from earlier. 

“Oh. Thank you for the ice cream as well.” I told him as I followed him to the register. He simply looked over his shoulder and shared a small smile before taking his card back, to then follow me to a nearby table with two seats. One across from the other. I continued to lick away at the ice cream with Tobirama occasionally looking up and staring. Which… I was somewhat enjoying, and fully taking advantage of. My tongue pressed flat to the scoop before I started digging out one of the brownie chunks with my tongue. When I readjusted to cross my legs, I felt my calf bump into his knee, but I cheekily left it there while continuing to attempt to show Tobirama my skills with a slight smirk. His ear were red once more as he stayed quiet while eating his own ice cream. 

“Must you eat the ice cream in such a manner?” 

“In what way am I eating the ice cream?” I asked with a smirk still. 

“Don’t act so coy.” He sneered with narrowed eyes before finishing off his ice cream. 

“It’s not my fault you’re having lewd thoughts-”

“I am having no such thoughts!” He snapped before looking away while clenching and unclenching his jaw, his hands balled in fists as I giggled. 

“Relax Tobi, you’ll pop a vein.” I teased while tucking an arm under my chest as I continued to lick my ice cream. 

“You’re using nicknames now?” He remarked as I started to nearly finish up the scoop of fudge brownie. 

“Is there a problem with that… Tobi?” I teased with another smirk as he continued to clench and unclench his jaw. 

“This is vastly inappropriate.” He commented while finally looking at me again. 

“Inappropriate for two friends?” I wondered while nibbling on the cone. 

“No, but we’re more than just two friends, aren’t we?” He pointed out and I couldn’t help but grow the biggest shit eating grin. 

“Oh? So this was a date? Why didn’t you tell-”

“You know that’s not what I mean!” He started with a shout to then quiet down as people looked at us. 

“Look if you’re worried about me reporting you or something, I would never. If anything I’m the inappropriate one here… We haven’t really even done anything. Are we not allowed to be work friends?” I argued before continuing to eat my ice cream. He gave me a once over and sighed deeply. 

“You are right. I am overreacting some. Hashirama was right, I do tend to overanalyze things and become too uptight about them.” Tobirama confessed. 

“I told you, you’re going to pop a vein.” I teased while bumping my calf into his knee as he huffed a chuckle. 

“Could we go outside?” He asked quietly. 

“Sure… Of course.” I nodded, quickly getting up and heading outside with him following behind me all while I dug my tongue into the ice cream cone. 

“Would it be possible… If I could take you up on your offer from earlier…?” He questioned in hushed tones, leaning into me while watching me closely. Offer from earlier… I placed my pocket into my hands with my brow furrowing trying to think about what he could possibly be talking about. My hand fiddled with the vape in my pocket and that’s when I realized. 

“Oh!” I pulled out the vape and handed it to him. “Yeah, sure!” 

“How do I use this? My brother only ever shoves food into my mouth.” He mentioned while looking at the vape, holding it up. 

“Just breathe in through here.” I took his hand with the vape and placed the cartridge end to his lips. “And then exhale.” I instructed. He placed the vape between his lips and inhaled a bit before handing the vape back to me to then exhale a little smoke. 

“I don’t smell like it now, do I?” He asked as I finished up the ice cream. 

“No…” I told him while shaking my head. He suddenly placed his hand on my cheek and ran his thumb under my lip. His tender touch had my heart racing as I stared back at him with wide eyes as he stared at my lips. 

“Sorry… You had a bit of ice cream.” He murmured with his hand lingering on my cheek. 

“You still smell really nice… Whatever it is that you use.” I mumbled while my eyes dropped down to his lips, only to have him pull away and take out his phone. 

“What is it?” He asked while holding up a finger to me and turning around taking a few steps away. “I’m still with her, I said I’d call you … Hashi-... Not now!” He snapped before looking at the phone and hanging up. “I apologize. We should probably get you home. I’ll order an uber for us both. I’ll have them take you home before me.” He informed while fiddling with his phone. 

That’s pretty much what happened. The car ride back was pretty uneventful other than that Tobirama actually chilled the fuck out. He was pretty quiet the rest of the way back to my place. Our legs would sometimes brush against each other, but that’s about it. Still, even though nothing happened… I felt so giddy and happy the entire time. He’s so cute when he blushes, it’s so adorable. I just want to keep gushing about him. All of my friends keep telling me this is a bad idea, but I can’t help it. I know I’m probably going to get my heart broken, but he’s just so… Magnetic. I can’t wait to see where things go. Anyways, dear sober me, I made rice for you for tomorrow, love drunk me. P.S. Sober me, keep trying to get that Senju dick. I bet it is great. Love, drunk me. 

[mylittlesyn]

MasterPost

Premise: Aquarela Juarbe just graduated from Northwestern University with her PhD in Biomedical Sciences. She managed to land a post doc position at a biotech company that's innovative and unlike any other in the field. The CEO & CSO, Dr. Tobirama Senju, has taken an interest in you, hoping to turn your position into an entire department with you being the head, only... That's not the only interest he's taken when it comes to her.

Chapter 1: Aquarela moves to San Diego from Chicago and happens to meet the CEO/CSO of the new biotech company she works at: Dr. Tobirama Senju. She first meets him in the parking lot, when he's experiencing car trouble. So, she helps him out.

Chapter 2: Dr. Tobirama Senju invites Aquarela to lunch, thanking her for helping him with some car trouble he experienced. Inadvertantly, he quite thoughtful with his business lunch choice. Unexpectedly, after her experience with Hashirama, she questions her relationship with Dr. Tobirama Senju.

Chapter 3: Aquarela decides to pay a visit to the art exhibit that Tobirama recommended whilst high... Only to run into Dr. Senju himself.

TW: None for now other than questionable boss-employee relationships which is pretty much the entire theme. Some weed usage.

[mylittlesyn]

Chapter 1: May 25th 2020, June 12, 2020, & August 7th, 2020 (This fic is in a diary format with memory recollections(It's fine, trust me)).

Premise: Aquarela moves to San Diego from Chicago and happens to meet the CEO/CSO of the new biotech company she works at: Dr. Tobirama Senju. She first meets him in the parking lot, when he's experiencing car trouble. So, she helps him out.

TW: None for this chapter other than questionable boss-employee relationships which is pretty much the entire theme.

𝟙𝟠+ 𝕆𝕟𝕝𝕪, 𝕄𝕚𝕟𝕠𝕣𝕤 𝔻ℕ𝕀

MasterPost

May 25 th , 2020

I know I suck at writing these, and I suck at keeping up with these things, but I just finished my first day as a post doc. The drive from Chicago to San Diego was long, but it sure as hell was fun. God I love my miata. Nothing like driving with the top down, feeling the sun on your skin, listening to some ska, singing at the top of your lungs, not a care in the world… Kiki got sick a bit, but she’s better now.

The real reason I’m writing is more about the job. It’s nice and all, people are nice, facilities are nice, the project is hella awesome… Like I’m going to be teaming up with some of bioinformaticists and using their gene expression data to look at potential targets for AAV. The director of this division says I’m on a ‘fast track’ to lead scientist. It’s kind of intimidating honestly but… This could be really good for me.

Also… They don’t drug test. So I won’t have to worry about using weed on the weekends or after work, and needing to explain why it’s in my system, which is a great relief. I used the excuse that I needed to know ahead of time so I could get written excuse from my doctors because ADHD meds will show up, which is true but… Yeah…

Anyways, went on a hella tangent… What I really wanted to say was the CEO/CSO of the company is insanely attractive. Like, look at him!:

Insert photo of Dr. Senju here eventually.

He’s got this hard look to him. I think he might be albino? He’s got this red tinge in his eyes, which might be from the blood vessels but humans with albinism usually have super pale blue eyes, but… Who knows. He’s a silver fox, but he’s only like 33? He built the company right out of his own postdoc and it kind of boomed within the 5-7 years it’s been up and running. His ambition… Fuck it’s attractive. Maybe the stress from building it all caused him to go fully grey so early. He’s also Colombian I guess? If I ever do meet him I’ll have to talk to him in Spanish. So far I haven’t met any Hispanics within the company which kind of sucks. Oh well, I already put my flag in the pencil holder at my desk. I’m sure they’ll find me eventually. Us hispanics congregate in herds, always find each other and then can’t be separated.

Mr. Dr. Bossman and I locked eyes, his mouth parted slightly when he saw me, then he looked away while clenching his jaw. Hopefully I didn’t do anything to piss him off when we locked eyes… I think I was just filling out some paperwork. His ears were red too, but he is rather pale… I’m probably just imagining things. Anyways, I’mma yeet.

June 12th, 2020

The past few weeks have been really busy, with a LOT of reading. Lit review… I still remember spending two months straight at the beginning for grad school just reading papers with Kiki by my side. (Kiki is my dog, for any archeologist in the future who discovers this. She’s a tiny schnauzer and she’s the sweetest, chillest, calmest thing ever and if I win the lottery I will make it my life’s work to clone her.)

Anyways, I’ve been reading about potential therapeutic targets. I had asked them what type they wanted, like for which disease. The dude was like: Just pick a department to collaborate with. So they have a cancer department, so I went with that. Tried looking for glioma targets, and after a lot of work with the bioinformatics team, we went with RB1. Which is kind of dumb because I could’ve just chosen that without needing to fill my head with soooo much gene regulation data. Seriously, that’s why I’m going out tonight. I need to be head empty for a bit. I mean I get why we chose it. It’s statistically speaking one of the most mutated genes in gliomas, and it’s mutated in other cancers so if the therapeutic use is successful, then it can be marketed to other areas. Still, feels a little like I wasted the past couple weeks.

Anyways, I’m actually going to look good when I go out tonight. I’ll paint my face with makeup and put on a pretty dress, maybe a sun dress, and I’ll go out. Maybe find someone to sleep with. I could use a good lay. I found the SCCA region thing here. I’m hoping to do a track day here soon and go autocrossing. Anyways, I’mma yeet and get ready.

August 7th, 2020

I told you I really suck at this kind of thing. I can’t keep up, but I’ve decided to not beat myself up about it anymore. I’ll write when I write. I’ve felt really happy lately. Also I’ve gotten really tan and my hair is kinda gold colored now because of the sun I’ve been getting. Good thing I’ve been wearing short shorts and a tank top so I don’t look like a farmer, but my stomach is sooooo pale compared to my limbs and upper torso. It’s a bit weird but, eh.

So I met the CEO/CSO. Dr. Senju. I was leaving work and I stopped on the way because he was in the parking lot with the hood up. He was waiting for a tow truck but it just turns out there was a coolant leakage. I waited with him while the engine cooled down and then put in some water. I ended up taking off my shirt to remove the cap on the radiator… The whole thing went kind of like this:

I walked to my bike, and unlocked it while bending over in my lycra shorts that started at the waist and ended just below my butt. The bottom of my ponytail tickled the exposed skin on my waist as my red tank top had ridden up my back. I took off my back pack and tossed it into the basket on the back of my bike. After I pulled out my aviator shades from my tank top and put them on, I hoped on my bike and started to make my way out of the parking lot, only to stop when I noticed someone with the hood of their car open. I pedaled my way over to the silver car and stopped in front of it. I got off of my bike that I built from junkyard scraps and put down the kickstand. Once I was sure the, perfectly functional bike albeit sometimes unsteady, was standing still I made my way to the other side of the hood where the owner awaited.

“Having car trouble?” I questioned with a smile as I approached the silver haired man. When he turned around I flinched, noticing it was the CEO/CSO of the very company I had just clocked out from. He was on the phone when he turned to me with an annoyed look on his face. I grimaced and shoved my hands into the non-existent pockets to then awkwardly cross my arms underneath my chest. I started to take a look at the engine on the Audi TTS that was still smoking some. I bet… I took off my sunglasses before I dropped down to the ground and stupidly placed my palms on the hot concrete as I peaked under the car. There was coolant on the ground. I quickly pushed up with a hop and slapped my palms onto my bare caramel colored thighs. When I turned to him again, I saw that he was on the phone, one arm across his chest, and his elbow resting on the back of his palm while he held up his phone to his face. His lips were tight and he was staring at me, though I had no idea what to make of his expression. “I know what’s wrong with the car, if you’re willing to wait a bit, I should be able to get it to where you can drive it yourself to the mechanic.” I announced to him as I inspected my palms. He hung up his phone and walked a little closer to me.

“You’re the new gene therapy addition, right?” He questioned as he slid his phone into his pocket. How he was managing to keep wearing that black turtle neck in this heat was beyond me.

“Yeah, I’m Aquarela.” I told him as I held out my hand.

“Dr. Senju.” He pronounced with a Colombian accent. So he does know Spanish… I started to get lost in those curious brick red eyes of his as I felt my lips part ever so slightly while our hands remained clasped. He cleared his throat and pulled his hand away as he turned to the engine and my eyes followed as well. “So what’s wrong with it?” He wondered as he started to lean on the car bumper only to recoil. Everything is so fucking hot.

“I’m guessing you were sitting in the car with it idling for a while before you started to see smoke coming out from under the hood?” I guessed. He turned over his shoulder to look at me with furrowed brows.

“How did you…?” He trailed off as he folded his arms across his chest and looked back to the engine.

“You’re leaking coolant. You’ve probably been low on coolant for a while but it won’t usually leak if you’re driving. Plus when you’re driving, the cool air travels through the grill and helps cool the car while it’s being driven, so it’s less likely to overheat while driving as opposed to still.” I started to explain and he started to watch me as I continued explaining. “Given the size of the puddle, I’d venture to say that you’ve been leaking for a while which means that it should hold enough while you get to the mechanic, but we need to wait for the engine to cool down before pouring water in, otherwise it will just evaporate… That and there’s too much pressure build up to remove the radiator cap right now.” I told him while I opened the coolant cap. I don’t know that it actually helps release the pressure built, but I’d like to think it helps some.

“Shouldn’t I put coolant in?” He asked with his brows furrowed and jaw clenched… No red ears this time… Huh…

“Ideally yes, do you happen to have any on you?” I asked as I turned to face him. He studied my face for a moment before looking over to the engine, his arms still crossed. He was clearly frustrated.

“No.” He muttered.

“If you really want, I suppose I can go get some up the street. There’s a gas station a few blocks from here that probably has some coolant.” I offered as I shrugged. “It’ll take me a bit but we need to wait for the engine to cool down anyways.” I remarked as he turned to me with his eyes widened a smidge before he shook his head.

“You’re certain using water won’t damage the engine, correct?” He interrogated.

“It won’t reach below freezing and it’ll be fine as long as we fill it up. Just don’t go over the speed limit and you should be fine.” I smiled at him and the corners of his lips raised as he placed his hands into his pockets. “Should we go inside and get some water then?” I questioned while I rocked on my feet.

“Yes, lets.” He acknowledged. He was about to put the hood of his car down but I stopped him while placing my hand on his. His eyes snapped to mine as he looked over his shoulder, and I noticed his ears were red and his brows were furrowed again.

“Let the engine breathe a bit, there’s a cool breeze going.” I suggested, and he gave a quick nod. His brows unfurrowed and our eyes remained locked as my hand lingered on his. I pursed my lips and removed my hand as he shoved the one I touched into his pocket while he went around to lock his car. I went to walk my bike over to lock it back up again, although this time just the body. After putting my backpack on, I started to walk back into the building with Dr. Senju by my side. He slid his keycard through the pad at the door and held the door open for me before I walked inside. We then made our way past the lobby and into the elevator.

I rocked back on my heels and gripped onto the railing as if I were to start to work my triceps, but no… I just stood awkwardly because… Why not? Him on the other hand… Hands in pockets, standing up so very straight after he pressed the button of the floor my office and the lab I worked on was in… Did he know where I worked? That I’m aware of his office is a few floors up from me… “How do you know so much about cars?” He asked, trying to make conversation.

“My dad. He likes to race them and he got me into cars since I was about… 2?” I laughed as he watched my face with a raised brow. “There’s a photo of me holding the steering wheel of my dad’s Datsun 510 when I’m about two years old.” I explained and he scoffed while looking down with the edges of his mouth turned up. “I started to learn how to drive stick when I was about 8, could officially drive stick when I was about 12, started racing go karts officially when I was 11, then I had my first autocross race when I was about 17…?” I rambled as I stared at the ceiling of the elevator.

“Autocross?” He spoke and when I turned to him his brow was raised slightly.

“It’s when you race in a timed lap against other people. It was done completely legally.” I added quickly. “You could probably autocross your audi, should you ever want to.” I remarked with a smirk. “No prior car knowledge needed to participate.” I teased as my smirk grew into a grin. He pursed his lips for a moment and kept the edges of his lips turned up. “Or you could race mine… Or simply ride with me while I race…” I suggested while I elbowed him. He pursed his lips again… Was he trying to hold back a smile…? The elevator door opened and he cleared his throat once again before gesturing for me to go on ahead with his arm. I walked onto the floor and started to head towards the labs. I reached over for my lab coat but he stood close behind me and placed his hand over mine.

“I won’t allow you to go in there without long pants. I can’t risk you getting hurt.” He spoke with such a deep commanding voice. His body wasn’t touching mine, but he was close enough to where I felt his hot breath against the outer shell of my ear and it all sent a shiver down my spine.

“I’m just getting water… I’ll be fine.” I insisted.

“I understand you just got out of academia, but I can’t allow that here.” He demanded as his hand gently squeezed mine before letting go. My hand fell to my side and I turned around, stuck between him and the lab door. His height towered over me as I looked up into his eyes, getting caught in them once again while I waited for him to step aside so I could walk out. He stared back into mine and I could swear his eyes drifted to my lips.

“Dr. Senju… I…” I motioned to the area past him. He cleared his throat and he stepped aside while his ears turned red and blush crept onto his cheeks. I could feel my cheeks growing warm as my fingertips went up to touch them. When I turned back to watch him, I quickly ran to the door and poked my head through. “Ideally we want distilled water!” I clarified quickly as he was about to gather tap water into one of the pyrex bottles. He turned off the faucet and switched to the other one as I indicated and I backed out of the lab. I walked over to my desk and rested up against it as I waited for Dr. Senju… Tobirama… Which, I’m glad I didn’t call him that because clearly he likes formalities.

“That’s right, you’re Puerto Rican.” He commented as he snapped me away from my staring at running shoes.

“You say that like you already knew where my desk was.” I remarked with my head tilted as I straightened. His ears turned red as his eyes looked everywhere but to me. “Do you have everyone’s desk location memorized…?” I teased with a smirk. His eyes narrowed as he glared.

“I am simply observant!” He snapped which caused me to flinch. He huffed a deep exhale as he turned away and I could see his ears were red again. “I saw you sitting there when you first started… I have a good memory… Photographic.” He huffed before he motioned for me to walk ahead of him without looking at me. I stood up straight while a smirk grew and walked ahead of him towards the elevator.

“So, sabes español entonces?” I questioned as I pushed the elevator button to go down. When I looked at him his face was stonewalled and showed no presence of emotion whatsoever. The elevator dinged as it opened and we both walked inside and faced the door. I rested up against the elevator wall and crossed my ankles while folding my arms underneath my chest.

“Hablo español pero creo que deberíamos mantener esta relación, profesional.” He spoke with a stern, deep voice and a slight Colombian accent. His jaw was clenching as I peeked over at him and his ears were red… His ears turned red a lot. I straightened up and tightened my hold on myself.

“Have… Have I done something unprofessional?” I uttered and I started to feel some knots form in my stomach.

“Your attempt to walk into the lab without the proper safety equipment was quite unprofessional.” He remarked and I could feel the blood drain from my face as I stared at the elevator floor.

“I-I…” I sighed and when I peaked up at him I could see him staring at the elevator panel with no emotion in his face. I was starting to feel queasy. “Every lab has their own leniencies for safety given the chemicals used in said lab… Now that I know what the rules are here…” I turned my whole body to him as I stood up straight. “You have my word, I will never attempt that again.” I told him with certainty, hoping to salvage my job.

“I understand how things function in academia, but we need to be stricter here. You’re in industry now.” He clarified, finally turning to me. “Don’t forget that.”

“I hope you won’t hold it against me… I quite like this job.” I informed as I stared down at my feet as I clasped my hands behind my back and rocked on my feet.

“I’m glad you like it here.” He spoke with a soothing, calm… Deep… Dreamy… Voice. I could feel my cheeks turning pink again and I rested back on the elevator wall. “I do actually have plans for you here, so I’m comforted to know you’d like to stay for a while.” He mentioned while studying my face, which was turning redder by the second. “I read your dissertation you know.” He mentioned with a more off handed tone, but even I knew that a man like him would never mention something like that off hand.

“All of it?” I wondered.

“All 214 pages of it. How is ‘the best dog’ doing? Well I hope.” He wore the world's smallest smug smile and I, who usually don’t care or get flustered by what other people think at all… Was trying to hide my face because I was certain my rosacea had me looking like a tomato.

“She’s good. Enjoying being somewhere warm again.” I smiled thinking of Kiki, who was probably eager for me to get home. “Do you have any pets?” I asked, finally having the courage to face him again. Kiki, working her emotional support magic, even from home.

“No. I am quite fond of dogs, but I work far too much to have one.” He mentioned. “Your work… It was very interesting, that concept you came up with… Using microRNAs to silence the mutated gene, which is compact and tried, while also adding in the replacement gene… It’s ingenious really. How did you come up with it?” He rested on the wall facing me now, studying me like a slide under a microscope. Our eyes locked again and a soft smile grew on my face. This man who’s a genius… Wanted to know how I came up with my ideas… The elevator dinged open and he cleared his throat again as we both straightened while motioning for me to walk on ahead. I stepped out of the elevator and into the lobby, before walking alongside him to head out of the building.

“It might be a little unprofessional to tell you, but I assure you… I’m very open about it and I don’t mind talking about it.” I warned, but he didn’t stop me. Instead his brow was raised… He was intrigued. “It’s the double edged sword of ADHD… All of the out-of-the-box creativity without any of the ability to execute your ideas.” I explained with a smile before stepping outside and holding the door open for him. He gave a small nod and the corners of his lips were turned up. “The ADHD meds help with the execution, but dim the creativity… So once in a while I go on ‘holidays’ where I don’t take the meds for a few days-“

“I’m aware of what holidays are… My brother has ADHD.” He remarked as we walked over to his car. When we stopped at his engine, he turned on his heels and watched me for a moment. “You remind me of him some… You’re both very… Charismatic.” He commented before giving himself the world's smallest smile. I grinned before I took off my backpack and my tank top and placed it over the radiator cap, but it was still to hot too hold onto after a few seconds. “You didn’t have to-“

“It’s fine.” I told him while waving him off and throwing my tank top over my shoulder. “I work in these tank tops all the time, they’re used to some car grease.” I told him as I wiped the sweat off of my brow before looking at him. His eyes were wandering and his ears were turning red again before he faced away. Did he… No… I shook my head and crossed my arms under my chest, tugging at my sports bra some. “Anyways, I’ll take a day off when I’ve been hyper focusing and reading about a problem… That’s usually when the ideas come to me.” I mentioned with a shrug. He watched my face closely as I stared back at him.

“Is that how you came up with RB1 as your target?” He wondered.

“Yeah… It’s a versatile target… It just made the most sense honestly. We’ve got a baseline for our cell line now, so I’m going to start designing the vector insert soon.” I informed as I started squinting a bit, now that the sun was in my line of sight. I took my aviator glasses and put them on, now being able to see appropriately.

“I’d like to see your process if you don’t mind…” He mentioned while he was looking down at the bottle in his left hand. His left hand that had no ring… No Aqua… Don’t.

“I think I would… I’d get distracted too easily…” I gripped onto my bicep and shrugged.

“Yes well… Alright. If you change your mind, please do let me know. I’m very interested to see how you work.” He remarked.

“I mean… If you’re that interested, would you mind if I stop by your office if I want to bounce ideas off of you?” I questioned. “I don’t think that will distract me, although I might interrupt you, talk over you, or something else unprofessional while in that state, so I please ask that you don’t hold that against me.” I warned while waggling my finger and finished with it placed over my lips. He huffed a chuckle while shaking his head.

“Again, my brother has it. I’m well aware of what it can look like. Please, stop by my office as you want. I hope to grow this into an entire department… And I’d like you to lead.” He started with his itty bitty smile to then finish with that stonewalled face.

“No pressure…” I joked as he huffed another chuckle. I felt the cap of the radiator and turned it just a smidge to then wait as it hissed and I quickly removed my hand to then wipe it on my thigh. “Soon.” I commented. “So you’re close with your brother?” I asked while straightening.

“Yes… We are very close. It’s just me and him. Plus, despite being the older one, he needs someone to keep an eye out on him.” He clenched his jaw but I smiled at him.

“That’s sweet.” I blurted to then feel my cheeks turn rosy while his ears turned red again. I bent over the engine and loosened the cap some more and stopped quickly when it started to hiss again, leaving it be as I flung my hand back. Dr. Senju placed the pyrex bottle on the ground, came around, and snatched my hand to inspect my palm.

“Are you alright?” He questioned with worry in his tone as his brows furrowed as he held my hands in his.

“I’m fine.” I chuckled as I looked at my slightly reddened palm. He looked at me with a scowl on his face.

“Nonsense with pressure buildup like that you could hurt yourself!” He snapped to then clench his jaw. My smile faded as I stared into his eyes that were looking closely at my palm. He’s so concerned… Yet he’s so angry… How amusing. “Does it hurt?” He muttered.

“No.” I insisted with another chuckle. He smoothed his thumb over it as he didn’t believe me and although it did sting a bit, it was nothing to cause me to flinch. He smoothed over it a few more times, and slowly the redness went away. My lips parted and I felt my cheeks turn red again. When his eyes caught mine, his eyes drifted towards my lips after a moment and he squeezed my hand. He cleared his throat and stepped back as he let go of my hand.

“Just, be cautious… Please.” He pleaded as his head whipped to look at the engine with his ears as red as my cheeks.

“Ok.” I whispered. The hissing had stopped so I finished removing the cap, bent over to grab the bottle, and slowly poured the water into the radiator. “So tell me more about yourself.” I demanded as a way to help break the silence.

“Such as…?” He questioned.

“Whatever you feel is professionally appropriate.” I teased, stealing a glance as I looked over my shoulder to see him narrowing his eyes at me as he crossed his arms against his chest.

“Well… I received my PhD from Stanford.” He mentioned.

“Oh I got rejected from there. They sent me a paper rejection… Paper! Who uses paper in 2015?” I shook my head and chuckled as I straightened once the bottle was empty. “We’re going to need more water.” I commented after handing him the bottle. He nodded so I put on my tank top again, along with my backpack, so we could head into the building to get more water.

“The tattoo on your shoulder blade… What’s the significance of it?” He was asking about my taíno coqui and the scripture underneath: Borincana aunque naciera en la luna. We walked into the lobby and I pressed the up button on the elevator.

“The words are in reference to a poem turned to song. Originally it’s about a Newyorican talking about how akin he feels to Puerto Rico, but to me it’s about how I was born in Florida and was raised in Puerto Rico. My dad was in the Coast Guard, so we were stationed in Florida when I was born, but I lived in Puerto Rico since I was 3 and it was the only culture I’ve ever known.” I shrugged as I leaned back against the elevator. I stole a glance from the corner of my eye to see his face emotionless as he nodded.

“And the symbol?”

“It’s a coqui. The Taíno symbol for it anyways. They were the native tribe that used to live in Puerto Rico before colonization.” I elaborated.

“My brother and I recently had our DNA sequenced, and now that Hashirama knows he’s 25% aboriginal… He wants to take a trip to Colombia to rediscover ‘our roots’.” He motioned with air quotes before he shook his head and huffed a chuckle.

“Recently? I had mine sequenced back in 2012… Pretty much as soon as I had the money to spare for the test.” I remarked with raised brows, surprised that the CEO/CSO of a bioinformatics company only just now had his DNA sequenced.

“Yes well, I should clarify.” He motioned for me to exit the elevator, so I stepped on ahead. “I did sequence my DNA ages ago, but I never gave emphasis to the genealogy aspect of it until Hashirama got his done.” He commented and I smiled as I watched him walk into the lab. I rested back up against my desk and watched him with my arms folded underneath my chest. When he walked back out our eyes met and locked as he slowly made his way to me. His height towered over me and his eyes broke to lower down to my lips, where mine drifted to do the same. I stood up straight and moved my hands behind me to clasp onto the edge of the desk, willing myself to hold back. “I got the water…” He whispered. That was just enough to snap us both back to reality. He cleared his throat and took a step back while he shook his head and I could see his ears turning red again as blush crept onto my cheeks. I chuckled some as a soft smile grew.

“Yes, I see that…” I hummed happily, giving him one last glance before heading over to the elevator as he continued to stare at his shoes. “So how much… Arawak is it in Colombia?” I was trying my best to recall my Puerto Rican history classes in high school.

“According to Hashirama’s latest fascination, the Arawaks are a broad term that include both your Taínos, and our Lokonos, which refers to the indigenous people of the Caribbean and South America respectively.” He spoke almost like he was reiterating from a textbook, which he mentioned having photographic memory… So maybe he was? I chuckled some before stealing a glance at him as the elevator made its way back to the lobby.

“It’s been a while since I studied this. I did a report on the Taínos in my Native American studies class in undergrad, but before that I hadn’t studied about the Taínos since highschool. You’ll have to forgive me, I’m a bit rusty.” I finished with a toothy grin as the doors to the elevator opened.

“You are forgiven.” He bore a small smile that made my heart flutter as we made our way through the main lobby.

“I’m honored to have earned your forgiveness.” I teased with a hand pressed to my chest as I walked backwards while watching him and pushed out on the door with my behind. He pursed his lips, likely trying to maintain his composed and stoic sense of self. I’m slowly catching onto your ways Dr. Senju.

“You are trouble…” I heard him hum under his breath, and I am so happy for my great hearing, so I can tease him further.

“I heard that.” I commented as I caught up behind him while we walked to his car. His ears turned red again and he was trying to avoid my gaze, so I simply snatched the bottle from his hands. I ran up ahead and started pouring the water into the radiator until it was filled, then I closed the cap, and filled the coolant section up to the full mark.

“Would you like me to take you home, so you don’t have to ride your bike I mean?” He offered as I closed the coolant cap and handed him the bottle.

“Nah, I like riding my bike… Feeling the warm sun on my skin.” I hummed happily as I looked up to the bright blue, cloudless sky. “Besides, then I’d have to drive into work the next morning and I don’t feel like paying for that expensive car park.” I shrugged to then look at him with my face scrunched while I shook my head. The corners of his mouth turned upwards and he watched me as I closed the hood of his car. I turned to face him and smiled. “You should be good to go. Just don’t idle in the car before it's fixed, and be more careful with speed bumps… Although I guess it could just be a valve… or a gasket… who knows…” I shrugged while looking at the car as I trailed off. “Anyways!” I met his eyes again. “I’m going to head home. My dog is waiting for me.” I told him with a smile.

“Thank you Dr. Juarbe. Please let me know if there’s anything I can do to repay you.” He spoke as he stepped closer to me.

“It’s nothing. Don’t worry.” I waved him off but he clasped onto my fingertips. His gaze held mine but it broke as his cell phone went off. He took a step back and cleared his throat, letting go of my hand as he reached in his pocket for his cellphone. “I’ll see you soon… I’m sure.” He spoke before he answered his call. I nodded and waved before I walked back to my bike to head home.

So that’s what happened. God is Dr. Senju dreamy… I’m not sure he’s really interested in me though, but if he is, he really doesn’t want to be. He probably isn’t though. I’m just reading too much into things. Ah well… At least I found out I have a good place with the company. And I get to burst into the Bossman’s office whenever I want! Not a whole lot that can get better than that! Anyways, I’mma yeet.

[mylittlesyn]

Chapter 2: August 9th, 2020, August 10th, 2020, August 11th, 2020

Premise: Dr. Tobirama Senju invites Aquarela to lunch, thanking her for helping him with some car trouble he experienced. Inadvertantly, he quite thoughtful with his business lunch choice. Unexpectedly, after her experience with Hashirama, she questions her relationship with Dr. Tobirama Senju.

TW: None. This is a bit of a slow burn.

This fic contains some Spanish, translations will always be included at the end of each section.

MasterPost

August 9th, 2020

So I raced today in the SCCA thing. I was the only lady in the ‘Ladies Street E class’ which means automatic first place, but of course that feels forced and not true. Time wise I was second place in the Street E class, which was really fucking good considering I went up against a Shelby and beat their time. Couldn’t beat the Porsche though. Always a firm believer of your car is only as good as the driver. They had some really nice cars out here though. Suppose I should expect that living here in San Diego. Of course I had someone ask where my boyfriend was, so they could compliment my car, but eh… I suppose I should be used to it by now. Either way they were shocked to see it was mine. Anyways, I’m going to bed. I’m exhausted from working the track today. Yeeteth.

August 10th, 2020

SO TODAY WAS INTERESTING. When I arrived at my desk today there was a letter waiting for me written by none other than: Dr. Senju!!! Here’s the letter:

Dra. Juarbe,

Thank you for your help on friday. You were able to make what should have been an abhorrent encounter, and refined it into something even rather enjoyable. Your companionship was pleasing and I was content to hear your experience with the company thus far has been delightful. If you would allow me to, I would like to thank you properly by inviting you to lunch tomorrow. There’s a nice place on Morena boulevard that I think would be up to your tastes. A taste of home rather… If you find this to be inappropriate, please let me know, I will arrange to have the food delivered to you. I simply was hoping to speak to you more about your experience and potential within the company while we were at it. I hope to work closely with you. Please let my assistant know your response if you don’t find me. 

Dr. Tobirama Senju

I can’t believe it either! He actually used his first name in the letter! It's such nice parchment, and written by hand… He has really nice handwriting too. He also got me a rose, but I didn’t have anything to put it in, so I took a plastic cup from the kitchenette and filled it with water and put it in there. BUT WAIT, THERE’S MORE! I met his brother! Who also just so happens to be the mayor of San Diego??? Talk about a well connected family, geez. That encounter went a little like this:

I was sitting at my desk, listening to music, staring off into space, and waiting for an incubation to finish up when a man with long silken brown hair and tanned skin sat on the edge of my desk. 

“Sorry to bother you, but do you know where my brother might be? I was told he would be on this floor.” The man asked with a friendly voice that had a slight air of stoicism to it as he sat on the edge of my desk. His eyes suddenly widened before closing with a smile blooming on his face. He reached across his stomach, holding out his hand for me to shake as his eyes opened again. “It might help if I introduce myself, I’m Hashirama Senju.” I gasped to then smile, reaching out to shake his hand. I looked over to the meeting room and could see Tobirama in the distance, sitting at the head of the table. I pointed out to him and as if he could sense it, Tobirama’s eyes met mine. He shared a small smile once he stopped talking, which I reciprocated as I watched his ears turn red. Motioning to Hashirama, Tobirama’s eyes followed to see his brother sitting at my desk. He gave a quick nod and turned back to his meeting. “Ah well.” Hashirama sighed, snapping me away from the dreamy Dr. Senju and back to him. “Do you mind keeping me company while I wait for him?” He asked with a toothy grin that looked so accustomed on his face. I pulled out my timer and saw I still had another fifteen minutes. 

“I should be good.” I smiled back at him as I watched him pull up a chair. 

“So who gave you the flower?” He asked as he propped his head up on his palm with his elbow on my desk as he smiled expectantly. 

“Your brother actually.” I told him as I sat back in my chair with one arm under my chest and the other tugging at my sweater to hide my face behind the turtle portion of the swoop neck. “It was a thank you for helping him with his car.” I replied with a shrug, hiding from his gaze where his eyes had widened in excitement. 

“So you’re the one!” He exclaimed before inching closer. I felt my eyes widen as tugged higher up on the sweater. “He’s single you know.” Hashirama chimed and I felt my shoulders tighten as I tried to shrink in on myself. 

“O-ok.” I nodded moreso to myself than to Hashirama, but he seemed to realize it was time to move on. 

“So the flag there-” He pointed to the Puerto Rican flag in my pen/pencil holder. “-you’re Puerto Rican?” I nodded excitedly, Hashirama would probably be more open to speaking spanish to me. 

“¿Sabes español como su hermano?” I asked with a smile growing on my face as I lowered the neck on my sweater some. 

“Si, y creo que es mejor que hablemos español, así se queda entre nosotros.” He remarked as he smiled wide, leaning in a bit more. I nodded quickly in agreement. “Y mira, yo se que mi hermano puede actuar como que tiene un palo espetado por el culo, pero creeme que, he means well.” I shared a sympathetic smile with him. 

“No te preocupes que ya me di de cuenta.” I chuckled as I lowered the neck of the sweater a tad more. Hashirama chuckled as well with his locks falling to the front from his side as he leaned in more. 

“Me dijo que sabes mucho de autos.” Hashirama mentioned. 

“Si, si, de hecho, corrí carrera ayer.” I told him as I let go of the neck of my sweater to start flipping the switch on my fidget cube while I leaned forward with my forearms on my desk. 

“Carrera de auto?” Hashirama questioned as his brows furrowed while straightening and his hand falling onto the desk. 

“Si, legalmente, obvio.” I told him as I placed a reassuring hand onto his wrist to then go back to my fidget cube. “Hay un club de Autos aquí en San Diego, una división del SCCA, que es un club nacional.” I elaborated as I watched my fingers fiddle with the cube. 

“Yo ni sabía que había eso aquí y soy alcalde.” Hashirama shrugged as he sat back in chair.

“‘Perate. Alcalde?” I asked as I raised my brows in bewilderment. Hashirama chuckled and nodded. “Pero que tienen ustedes los Senju que todos tienen que ser tan accomplished tan joven?!” I slammed my hand down on the table to have us both start chuckling. “Enserio, que carajo?” I placed my hands over my mouth, still somewhat in shock as I reveled in the information. 

“Dime, porque te gusta lo de autos?” Hashirama asked, trying to ground me some. 

“Adrenalina supongo… Eso y me crié con carros.” I shrugged as I swiveled in place in the chair while Hashirama took the cube and started spinning the wheel it had. He jutted out his lower lip and nodded. 

“Supongo que es igual de buena que cualquier otra razón.” Hashirama acknowledged. “Me dijo también que eres nueva aquí en San Diego, que viniste de Chicago creo que era?” He questioned. 

“Yeah…” I hummed as I readjusted in my chair to sit cross legged. 

“Y como te esta gustando mi pueblo?” He beamed as he held out his arms as if to gesture to the entirety of San Diego. His chest was puffed out and there was a wide toothy grin planted on his face, clearly proud of his city. 

“Hasta ahora me encanta. Yo corro en bicicleta de casa al trabajo, y nunca tengo problemas, asi que se lo aprecio.” I complimented with a nod as he took a bow, causing me to giggle. 

“Bueno, pues cualquier cosa, a la orden. ¿Cuál es su nombre?” He asked. 

“Aquarela Juarbe.” I replied with a smile. “Y gracias.” 

“Ahora cuéntame algo, ya que nos conocemos mejor.” Hashirama rested his chin in his hand again as he leaned in. “Mi hermano… Le gustas, ¿verdad?” He asked with a wide smile. I raised my hand tugging at the neck again to cover my face as I sank back in my chair. My eyes drifted to Tobirama who was starting to walk up to us from behind. “Eah…” Hashirama hummed to then slam his hand down on the table excitedly causing Tobirama to flinch and stop in his tracks while still maintaining his stonewalled face. 

“Elder brother.” Tobirama grumbled as he placed a hand onto Hashirama’s shoulder. Hashirama looked over his shoulder to Tobirama while Hashirama’s grin changed from excited to nervous in a split second. I lowered the neck of my sweater a bit as I chuckled at Hashirama’s sudden change in demeanor. “Hopefully he wasn’t causing you any trouble Dr. Juarbe.” Tobirama remarked as he gripped tightly onto Hashirama’s shoulder, almost in a threatening manner, before turning to me. I straightened in my chair and let go of the neck of my sweater. 

“No. Not at all. Just keeping me company while I wait for an incubation.” I explained as I rested my chin on my palm while looking up at Tobirama with a smile on my face. The edge of his lips turned upwards with his eyes locked on mine. “Oh and, it’s a yes for tomorrow.” I mentioned and I noticed his ears turn red again. 

“Good. I’ll meet you here.” He acknowledged as his eyes drifted away and landed on the rose he gave me. Hashirama stood up and I watched them as they mumbled something to each other. 

“Well it was good meeting you Aquarela! I hope to see you around!” Hashirama smiled as my timer started to go off. 

“We shall let you get back to work.” I heard Tobirama say as I fiddled with the timer, trying to turn it off. I got up and walked over to the glass door of the lab as I stole another glance of Tobirama, who had seemed to be watching me as our eyes met once again. I could feel my cheeks burning up as his ears turned red, and the timer started going off again to pull me from my thoughts. 

So that’s what happened. Those damn timers never know when to shut up. So should I wear something a little nicer for tomorrow? Or would that come off as trying too hard? Maybe I’ll just actually wear some makeup tomorrow. Keep it simple. Just some liner, mascara and stuff. Basic. Lipstick maybe? Oh… Yeah. That’ll be perfect. With my red fluffy sweater? And then that way i’m not really trying hard, all I did was paint my lips red. No biggie. Perfect. Anyways, I’mma yeet.

[Translations:

“¿Sabes español como su hermano?” I asked - Do you know spanish like your brother? 

“Si, y creo que es mejor que hablemos español, así se queda entre nosotros.” He remarked as he smiled wide, leaning in a bit more. I nodded quickly in agreement. “Y mira, yo se que mi hermano puede actuar como que tiene un palo espetado por el culo, pero creeme que, he means well.” I shared a sympathetic smile with him.  - Yes, I do, and I think it's better that we speak in spanish, this way things can stay between us. And look, I know that my brother can act like he has a stick up his ass, but trust me, he means well.

“No te preocupes que ya me di de cuenta.” I chuckled - Don't worry, I already noticed.

“Me dijo que sabes mucho de autos.” Hashirama mentioned. - He said you know a lot about cars.

“Si, si, de hecho, corrí carrera ayer.” I told him - Yeah, speaking of which, I raced yesterday.

“Carrera de auto?” Hashirama questioned - Raced cars?

“Si, legalmente, obvio.” I told him as I placed a reassuring hand onto his wrist to then go back to my fidget cube. “Hay un club de Autos aquí en San Diego, una división del SCCA, que es un club nacional.�� I elaborated as I watched my fingers fiddle with the cube. - Yes, legally, obviously. There's a car club here in San Diego, a division of the SCCA which is a national club.  

“Yo ni sabía que había eso aquí y soy alcalde.” Hashirama shrugged as he sat back in chair. - I didn't even know that was a thing here and I'm mayor.

“‘Perate. Alcalde?” I asked as I raised my brows in bewilderment. Hashirama chuckled and nodded. “Pero que tienen ustedes los Senju que todos tienen que ser tan accomplished tan joven?!” I slammed my hand down on the table to have us both start chuckling. “Enserio, que carajo?” I placed my hands over my mouth, still somewhat in shock as I reveled in the information. - "Wait, mayor? But what is that you Senjus have where all of you are so accomplished so young?! Seriously, what the hell?"

“Dime, porque te gusta lo de autos?” Hashirama asked, trying to ground me some. - Tell me, why do you like cars?

“Adrenalina supongo… Eso y me crié con carros.” I shrugged as I swiveled in place in the chair while Hashirama took the cube and started spinning the wheel it had. He jutted out his lower lip and nodded.  - Adrenaline I suppose... That and I was raised with them.

“Supongo que es igual de buena que cualquier otra razón.” Hashirama acknowledged. “Me dijo también que eres nueva aquí en San Diego, que viniste de Chicago creo que era?” He questioned.  - I suppose that's just as good as any other reason. He also mentioned that you're new to San Diego, that you moved from Chicago I think it was?

“Y como te esta gustando mi pueblo?” He beamed - And how are you liking my city?

“Hasta ahora me encanta. Yo corro en bicicleta de casa al trabajo, y nunca tengo problemas, asi que se lo aprecio.” I complimented with a nod as he took a bow, causing me to giggle.  - So far I love it. I ride my bike to and from work, and I never have any issues, so I appreciate it.

“Bueno, pues cualquier cosa, a la orden. ¿Cuál es su nombre?” He asked. - Well if you ever need anything, let me know. What's your name?

“Aquarela Juarbe.” I replied with a smile. “Y gracias.” - and thank you.

“Ahora cuéntame algo, ya que nos conocemos mejor.” Hashirama rested his chin in his hand again as he leaned in. “Mi hermano… Le gustas, ¿verdad?” He asked with a wide smile. I raised my hand tugging at the neck again to cover my face as I sank back in my chair. My eyes drifted to Tobirama who was starting to walk up to us from behind. “Eah…” Hashirama hummed to then slam his hand down on the table excitedly causing Tobirama to flinch and stop in his tracks while still maintaining his stonewalled face. - Now tell me something now that we've gotten to know eachother better. My brother... You like him, right? Well I'll be damned.]

August 11th, 2020

WHO IS MCDREAMY? I’LL TELL YOU WHO, DREAMY DR. SENJU IS! I’ll start off with this: there’s no way to know for sure, and Tobirama doesn’t strike me as the type of man to admit it if I asked, but I think he’s the reason for the mystery vase appearing on my desk to house the rose he gave me. It’s nothing special, just a plain glass vase, but it’s really sweet, and cute! He drove me in his Audi… Nothing was said on the way there, he was just kinda tense and focused on the road. Anytime I said something his ears turned red. They turn red a lot. When we got there, I realized he took me to a Puerto Rican restaurant! Can’t believe I didn’t realize that’s where he had intended to take me sooner, but how sweet is that?! Him wanting me to feel like I’m at home? Anyways, the not a date work date went like this:

I excitedly got out of the car, practically squealing with a grin so big on my face it hurt. I shook my forearms, my hands balled into fists, as I held them close to my face while tapping my feet on the ground in place as I gazed at the restaurant once out of the car. As if gathering all the tension in my muscles for an implosion, I jumped and exploded outwards as I ran along ahead in my black converse hightops. After running up the steps, I looked back at Tobirama who was walking past his car, the smallest of smiles donned his face, his cheeks pink and his ears red. I rocked on my heels as I waited for him to come up the steps, my grin turning into a softer smile. “I hope you had that reaction when you decided to come work with me.” He remarked as he walked up the steps. 

“Almost.” I teased with a smug smile as I hid my hands in the sleeves of my sweater. He walked on ahead and held open the door for me, to which I walked inside. 

“I’m glad I chose the right place.” He commented as the door closed behind him. 

“Outside, or in?” The hostess asked, eyes moving between the two of us. 

“The weather is nice out.” He mentioned while looking out the window before turning back to me. I smiled and nodded at him, which he reciprocated. “Outside.” The hostess grabbed a couple of menus and walked us outside to a patio area, sitting us at a table. Tobirama sat down, but I flipped my hair upside down to put it into a messy bun at the top of my head before I joined him. They brought us some water and left while I looked down at the menu. They had tostones, bistec, arroz con gandules, mofongo! Even pasteles, alcapurrias, pernil, and! I gasped loudly and slammed my palm onto the table while looking at the menu.

“THEY HAVE MEDALLA!” I exclaimed as I stared at the word on the menu. Glancing up at Tobirama, I saw him staring at me while resting his chin on the heel of his fisted hand, trying to hide most of his face. Even still, I could see his cheeks turn a light shade of pink as I caught him watching me. He cleared his throat as he sat up straight and I shook my head. “That would be inappropriate now…” I mumbled to myself as I turned back to the menu. “Sorry, I haven’t had some of these things since I visited back home in the winter.” I explained as I decided what I was going to eat. 

“Well, why don’t you pick my meal, you can have a few bites of mine and get the taste for it.” He offered as he closed his menu and placed it aside. When I smiled at him, I felt my cheeks growing a little hot as I closed my menu. 

“Thank you, Dr. Senju .” I teased before taking a drink of the water. “I’ll only do it though if you agree to try mine.” I insisted. 

“Alright.” He agreed as he took my menu and set them both aside. 

“So did you actually want to talk about work, or did you just say that to come off as more professional in that letter?” I teased as I sat back in the chair, slouching some as I crossed my arms on my stomach. His face turned to a scowl as I tried to hold back snickers. 

“I would never invite you under such false pretenses.” He scoffed as his lips grew tight. “How is the project coming along?” He questioned with his gaze falling to his lap before rising up at me again. 

“So vague, clearly no false pretenses.” I teased as I leaned forward, resting my chin in my palm as I hunched over. Tobirama on the other hand scowled again as he looked off to the busy street. “It’s fine, just making sure the plasmid is built properly. There’s a PCR program running a ligation program as we speak.” I elaborated with a smile. 

“Let me know if you run into issues building up the plasmid.” He mentioned with a nod. 

“It should be fine. Packaging and getting a good titer is usually the part that’s a pain.” I grumbled as I started to feel my brow line with sweat. Pulling up on the hem of my sweater to take it off, I felt the nice cool breeze hit my portion of my chest that wasn’t covered by my matching red tank top. After placing the red sweater on my lap, and pulling up my black high waisted jeans, I went back to resting my chin on my palm. “Sorry, I’m not used to the heat yet.” I explained as his strangely red tinted eyes bore into mine, almost like he was avoiding looking away. Blush crept onto his cheeks once more as he cleared his throat with his eyes leaving mine, looking around as if trying to find the waiter. I pulled in the chair to then sink back into it as the server approached. 

“Do you have salsa criolla para el mofongo?” I questioned, when the server nodded, I smiled wide with excitement, sitting up in my chair. “Ok, he’ll have the mofongo relleno de churrasco con salsa criolla, and I’ll have the pastel con arroz con gandules. I’ll just have water to drink.” I placed my hands between my thighs as I smiled up at the server. 

“Wait. What was that medalla you were ecstatic about?” Tobirama asked, calling my attention. 

“Oh, it’s beer, I can come back for that.” I told him, waving him off before sliding my hand back between my lower thighs. He nodded to me and then to the server, handing them the menus for the server to leave. “Thank you again for inviting me to lunch.” I told him. 

“Yes well, a thank you lunch is still cheaper than paying for a tow truck.” He commented before drinking some of his water. Though I knew this was only meant to be a business/thank you lunch, his words still sparked some disappointment as I rubbed my bicep. 

“Yeah.” I mumbled. 

“You mentioned that you race, is that something you can do here?” He asked as he placed the glass back down. 

“Yeah, I actually just raced this past Sunday.” I commented as I sat up some, a half smile growing on my face. “I managed to snag second place in my class.” I smiled to myself as I felt a little more cheery. 

“Second place?” He asked with his head ever so slightly tilted. 

“Well I was going against a Porsche in my Miata, there’s only so much I can do.” I grumbled as I crossed my arms under my chest. When he huffed a chuckle I caught a glimpse of the smallest of smirks. 

“I’m not sure what a Miata is, but I assume that’s your car you’re referring to?” He wondered. 

“Yeah, my baby. I still remember seeing it for the first time. I sat in one when I was eight and ever since I knew it was my affordable dream car.” I hummed dreamily while lifting one hand to rest my chin on my palm. 

“I don’t know whether to ask about the affordable part or the part about you only being eight.” He remarked. 

“Well I have an affordable dream car which is the obtainable one, and then I have dream car regardless of the price which is a lamborghini diablo VT 6.0. Also I’ve been raised to be into cars since I was like two years old. There’s a photo of me in an old Datsun holding onto the steering wheel.” I told him while waving him off to then rest my chin back on my palm. “What about you, what hobbies do you have?” I asked, while he started to hesitate. He looked away with his brows furrowed, but his jaw wasn’t clenching this time. “Aw come on, you asked about my hobbies. Why can’t you tell me yours?” I teased a little with a toothy grin forming. He exhaled through his nose with his eyes slightly narrowed while turning to face me before finally softening. 

“I tend to devote myself to my work fairly heavily, so I don’t have a lot of time for anything else.” He started to say while thumbing the dew off of his glass of water. “Occasionally I’ll spend time at some art museums or showings. There’s an exhibit right now of impressionist and post-impressionist work at the art museum here in San Diego. The exhibit has been here a couple years already, but I keep finding myself going back to admire it.” 

“Really? I’ll have to go take a look. They always tend to have such broad strokes, don’t they?” I commented with a smirk before taking a sip of my water. 

“Now that you mention it… Unless it’s for the finer details.” He pointed out as the server brought us our food.

“Well of course, there they have the obligation to capture as much as possible, right? For everything else though, they use broader strokes, it helps emphasize what’s important to a certain extent.” I reasoned as the server placed down our food. “Buen provecho.” I smiled while cutting off a portion of the pastel with my fork. 

“Igual. How do you know so much?” He wondered before taking a bite of the mofongo. 

“My mother was a watercolor artist. I grew up around art too. I’ll have to take a look at the exhibit.” I commented as I scooped up some of the arroz con gandules. 

“Was?” He questioned after swallowing his bite. “This is delightful.” He remarked while motioning to the mofongo. 

“Yeah… She passed away last year.” I replied quietly. “Suicide.” I explained while staring at the food as I placed my hand between my thighs. 

"I'm sorry to hear that." He somewhat grumbled with a frown, so I pushed my plate towards him. 

"Here, try it." I told him with a small smile and he started to take a portion of the pastel. "Make sure you get some of the pork." I added as I watched him scoop up some of the arroz con gandules. He added a piece of the pork mixed in with the rice and took a large bite. He covered his mouth as he ate, but gave an approving nod while looking down to avoid my expectant eyes. I watched his Adam's apple Bob as he swallowed the bite of food as I held a toothy grin. "Well…?" 

"It's good." He determined with a small smile as he took out another bite of the Mofongo with the churrasco. He started to hold it out for me to take a bite, so I leaned in, only to have him switch and hold out the handle of the fork for me to take. "Here." He grumbled while scratching his head as his ears turned red. I pulled back and held the fork to take the bite. Ughhhhhh as good as I remember. After handing him back the fork I went to take another bite of my food with a small smile on my face. 

"So, how was it?" He asked while I slowly lifted my gaze. "Is it as good as it is back home?" He wondered with a serious look on his face with his complexion having turned back to normal. 

"Just about." I replied with a smile. "Thank you again for the lunch, and for finding Puerto Rican food. That's very sweet of you." I added as I felt my cheeks grow a little hot. His face promptly turned red as he rolled up his sleeves to expose his… strong… forearms while his cheeks and ears turned so red they looked sunburnt. 

"It's nothing. I just wanted you to feel welcome." He huffed while gripping tightly onto the handle of the steak knife that pointed upwards as he stared at his food. I pursed my lips trying to hold back my smile, as he looked so frustrated at his own embarrassment. It's… kind of adorable. We started to eat more in silence with his skin slowly turning back to its pale form. "My brother… He truly wasn't bothering you yesterday, was he? If he was please,-" 

"He wasn't." I interrupted with a smile before eating another bite. "He's charming. Very personable." I remarked after finishing. He nodded in agreement. 

"He tends to… Say things he shouldn't, on occasion." He mentioned cautiously before taking a bite himself. 

"It's an ADHD thing, I'm fine with it." I waved him off, but he struck the table when placing his fist down seemingly more aggressively than he intended. 

"It's not alright." He muttered. "He talks about my private life at my place of business! It's inappropriate." He snapped.

"So then why do you confide in him?" I wondered aloud while hunched over, resting my chest on the table as I continued to eat my food. He looked at me with a bewildered face and huffed once more. 

"That's not the point! He shouldn't be doing such things." He remarked angrily. 

"Well, if it helps, all he did was ask more about what you told him about me before talking about himself." I shrugged before feeling a little emboldened. "I didn't realize I was important enough to talk about." I teased with a smug smile to watch him start to clench his jaw. 

"He asked what happened with my car. It just… came up." He grumbled as usual with his cheeks turning pink as my heart skipped a beat. "Is everyone treating you well?" He asked while returning to his serious demeanor. 

"I mean they're all friendly I guess. Although some of the bioinformaticists talk down to me, but I think that's just their demeanor." I commented with a slight pout. 

"I've noticed. They'll do it to even me from time to time. Then they'll finally look at me and they realize who they are talking to…" He huffed a single chuckle while holding a small smug smile. "Pay them no attention. You're going to be my golden goose." He pointed to me with a small smile before taking another bite of that delicious Mofongo. 

"No pressure." I mumbled with a shrug, though I don't think he heard. "How are you so certain?" I wondered before taking a sip of the water.  He looked up at me with his eyes slightly widened to then study me in complete utter silence. 

"It was your letters of recommendation. In particular the one that was written by your undergraduate mentor. She spoke about how you would take every new thing you learned and just… Churn out a new idea of how to apply it to the research being conducted in the lab. That's what we need here. As it is, this company merely sits and hoards massive amounts of data. We need people like you to turn it into something of actual value and applicability." He finished as if everything he said was so normal, so obvious. I took a few bites to digest both the food I was eating and the words he just spoke, but something kept eating away at me. 

“I have plenty of shit ideas though… How can you speak so… Matter-of-factly about me? You barely know me…” I trailed off with my brows furrowed as I carefully rested my fork on my plate to then look up at him. 

“Oh I’m certain you will have plenty of… shit ideas. That’s part of the process, wouldn’t you agree?” He smirked while stealing glances at me. 

“Of course, but how do you know your investment will be worthwhile?” I couldn’t help but wonder in a way like an itch I couldn’t help but scratch. 

“I don’t.” He answered plainly with a serious look on his face. “It’s just… A gut feeling.” He spoke in a finalizing tone, though I still felt rather unsettled. So much felt like it was riding on me, and he felt so certain about my abilities… Could I really meet his expectations? I suppose he’s taken a bit of a hands on mentoring approach. Is that what this is…? Am I making a fool of myself here with my makeup done up? I suddenly felt the need to hunch in on myself and I loosened my hair to try my best to use it to hide my face as I quickened my eating pace. “What… Other hobbies do you have…?” He asked hesitantly before wiping his mouth with a napkin while the question took me by surprise. My mouth opened ever so slightly for a brief moment before I took a sip of my drink. 

“Well… I like to dance on occasion. I know I don’t look it, or sound it given my previous hobby, but…” I trailed off as I tucked my hair behind my ear and stole another glance to see him with his face completely stonewalled. 

“What do you dance?” He wondered. 

“Salsa, merengue, bachata, swing, and a few others.” I shrugged. “Why, do you?” I asked with a brow raised, only to see him nod while clenching his jaw. My eyes widened slightly as I tried to picture this gruff man dancing though… With his stoicism I suppose… “Do… Do you know where I might be able to find a good place to?” I questioned. 

“Sevilla. It’s a tapas bar, but they have a nightclub upstairs. They play latin music and people are always dancing.” He mentioned while picking at the food and trying to avoid my gaze, though his face was unreadable. 

“Do you go there?” I wondered without realizing I had spoken out loud. So I quickly tried to hide my face and promptly stuffed my face with pastel. 

“Yes.” He admitted to my surprise. I quickly stole a glance with raised brows to see him actively trying to hide his face while eating quietly. 

“Thanks for the recommendation.” I remarked before finishing my last bite of pastel. The server brought the check over and Tobirama quickly handed them a card before they could leave the check on the table. 

“I’m stuffed… Thank you so much for lunch.” I repeated again. 

“You don’t have to keep thanking me. Please.” He held out his hand and shook his head before looking down. We both left to his car once his card was handed back to him with me putting my sweater on along the way. I stood out in front of his car for a moment admiring it while stretching out the already stretchy sweater with my hands pushing down on the hem. He paused behind me. “Why didn’t you go into mechanical engineering?” 

“Hm…?” I looked over my shoulder to Tobirama who was staring at his car as I processed his words for a moment. “Oh… Umm… Not enough questions to be asked.” I shrugged before looking back at the car. “Cars are just a hobby for me. What I really love is to find out answers about the unknown. There’s so little we know about genetics… We’re really just on the cusp. I can feel it.” I told him as I started to walk backwards towards the passenger side with a toothy grin. The corner of his lips turned upwards as he watched the ground while walking towards the drivers side. 

“Your excitement for science… It’s infectious.” He commented before sliding into his seat. 

“You don’t look too excited.” I teased to see his cheeks become painted with a light pink. 

“I assure you I am.” He frowned as he started to drive back towards work. 

“Dr. Senju… I know I’ve already told you, but it means a lot to me that you went through so much trouble to find a Puerto Rican restaurant.” I told him only to hear him let out a sigh. 

“Please… Stop thanking me.” He groaned while pinching the bridge of his nose as I gripped onto my bicep while my other hand went between my thighs. 

“I’m sorry, I just… I haven’t been back home since January last year when it happened… With my mom… And having a nice meal like that with food like that... ” I admitted while looking to my lap, letting my hair act as a protective veil as it draped around me. 

“I understand you just started working here, so you don’t have any sick days or vacation days accumulated... But I’ll see about arranging something so you can go… Perhaps this winter. During the holidays.” He mentioned and I looked at him with my eyes widened while he stared at the road. 

“Why would you…?” I mumbled quietly while I watched him in awe at his generosity as my cheeks grew a little hot. 

“You’re my golden goose. I want to keep you happy with me and the company.” He shrugged with one shoulder. Of course that’s it. I sat back in my chair and sunk in it the way my heart was doing in my chest. The rest of the ride was one of silence. Am I being ridiculous? Was Hashirama just asking me all of this without actually knowing whether Tobirama liked me? I mean he did tell his brother about me… If it was just because I came up, would he have really gone into such detail about things? Probably not… Right? I snuck a glance at Tobirama only to catch him looking at me. He looked away quickly and turned red from his cheeks to his ears as he clenched his jaw and tightly gripped onto the steering wheel. That was something… Right? I’m not just imagining things…? Of course he’d try to hide it if he did. I mean, he’s the CSO and CEO. It’d be inappropriate. Scandalous even. He obviously doesn’t date within the company. He could have his pick of any one of us here… Fuck he’s good looking. And so… Chivalrous. He parked in the same place I had found him last week and we headed into the building together. Motioning for me to walk into the elevator before him, I stood by in one corner. We both reached out at the same time and pressed the same button for my floor, quickly retreating as our fingers touched. 

“Sorry.” We both mumbled, causing me to try my best to stop a smile and when glanced at him, I could see one of the corners of his lips turned upwards. I rubbed my forearm, trying to rid myself of the goosebumps he had given me. 

“Are you cold?” He asked while staring at me with his brows furrowed. 

“What? No.” I shook my head and darted out of the elevator quickly to return to my desk, trying to hide how positively red I was from having been caught over goosebumps. I sat in my chair and turned on my laptop only to notice a person dressed in black was at my desk. 

“You were… Pleasant company. Perhaps we can do this again.” Tobirama mentioned while looking at his fingers that were touching my desk. 

“Tobriama are you asking me on a second-” 

“It was a business lunch.” He interjected my teasing with his cheeks turning bright red along with his ears. I pursed my lips to hold back a smile and nodded. 

“That’d be nice.” I added with a soft smile as his complexion slowly returned to normal. 

“I’ll be making a trip to Colombia soon. If you’d like, you can use my parking spot while I’m gone. We can have another lunch when I get back.” He mentioned. 

“I’d really like that… Both things.” I spoke softly as our gazes locked on each other. Those brick red eyes that were so curious to look at had my heart fluttering. When they drifted to my lips and paused there, my heart skipped a beat. His eyes fell further and he cleared his throat before he knocked on the desk. 

“I’ll let you know. Stop by my office if you encounter any trouble with research.” He nodded, moreso to himself, and then wandered off. 

And that’s it diary. That was my lunch with Tobirama. There has to be something there, right? Well… I hope. HE MAKES MY HEART FLUTTER FOR FUCK’S SAKE. Like who does that anymore? Anyways, Imma yeet.