Title: Candy Shop

Summary: 'You can either work for me, or you can abandon this job and make your parents angry. It's your choice. No? Good, now go clean.'

Pairing: Ego Pair (MaruixAtobe)

"But Moooom!" Marui whines, trying to free his arm from his mother's claw-like grasp. "It's just sweets! I need that to play tennis!"

"Stop complaining," his mother barks at him. "You're the one who had the idea of working in that candy store. Come now, it can't be that bad, and you're at a age where you should be getting a job anyways."

"I only wanted to work in that candy store because you wanted me to work," Marui grumbles, crossing his arms as both he and his mother enter the store. He sees someone that looks familiar standing behind the counter and points at him. "No way. You're working too?!"

His mother whacks him on the head for being impolite. Then she bows. "Atobe-san, thank you for generously offering my son a job."

Atobe gives Marui a smirk, satisfied that he is recognized, before turning his attention to his mother. "With pleasure."

Marui groans inwardly and wonders what the hell he's gotten himself into this time.

--choice--

Marui actually wouldn't really mind working for Atobe.

It's the fact that he's the only employee of Atobe's that really irks him. Atobe could easily hire another employee to help out with the shop, cleaning up the bits and pieces of shattered candy that has fallen onto the ground, renewing the supplies of candy, making sure the buckets are always filled to the brim.

Marui's the only employee Atobe's hired so far, so he has to do all of that and be at the cash register, answering any questions and placing orders. He's mostly at the cash register, so he doesn't have that much time to clean up during his shift, so Atobe actually makes him work extra.

All his free candy isn't that bad though, and he can take as much as he wants after his duties are over.

Still, it's a tough job if it's just him working, so he confronts Atobe about it one day.

"Atobe, seriously, just hire another person. That way you won't have to stay here the whole time waiting for me to finish cleaning up."

"Ore-sama thinks you can do it perfectly well on your own," Atobe answers him.

"I'm practically dying over here!" Marui practically shrieks at him, throwing his towel at the boy.

Atobe ducks. He gives Marui a distateful look at clucks his tongue. "Look, it's either you work for me, or you get kicked out. It's your choice."

Marui doesn't say anything. Truthfully, he's not too irked by his job, but Atobe's just being stubborn and it pisses him off.

Atobe takes his silence as a negative. "Good. Now go do your cleaning duties." He waves a hand, shooing Marui away, and Marui grumbles under his breath about spoiled, rich, bratty kids and how annoying they are.

--candy--

Marui finally gets used to his job, after several weeks of bitching at Atobe and having the boy bitch right back at him.

They still bitch around though, sometimes right in front of the customers.

But Marui thinks, maybe, just maybe, he can deal with this spoiled, rich, bratty kid, even though he's sometimes Atobe's a bit too annoying for his own good.

He still wonders though, why Atobe only has hired him as a employee.

FIN