#and joanna could definitely have more than one pair of the same shoe in different colors

[whiteshipnightjar]

Joanna Newsom in Carolina Herrera and her blue suede Mary Janes

[whereisten]

Hero, Yuta, & Me

Summary: Your pet sitting job lands you at the doorstep of the magnetic Yuta Nakamoto, owner of the cutest Shiba Inu on the planet, Hero. 

Multi-part series: Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3

Part 1

Word Count: 2,021 words

You were getting ready for the day, brushing your hair in front on your vanity. Your mom was visiting your grandparents down south while your dad and younger brothers were at Disney World. Those lucky bastards. You regretted not going with them but you were saving up for a Korean pop convention that was coming up in the summer. And you just landed a pretty sweet gig with your pet sitting job, Read It and Woof.

The owner, Yuta Nakamoto, lived in Miami Beach in a nice townhouse. He was the owner of a Shiba Inu named Hero. You were psyched because you had never seen a Shiba in the flesh. Mr. Nakamoto was going on a business trip so he needed someone to spend the weekend at his place, looking after Hero.

You parked in Mr. Nakamoto’s driveway, seeing his black Dodge Challenger’s trunk popped open. The front door was slightly ajar. You grabbed your bag out of the backseat and shut the door.

You heard a bark and whipped around to see a black and tan Shiba Inu sitting before you and you nearly crumble.

“Hi!” You greet the pup. “You must be Hero.”

Hero got up and started sniffing at your sneakers. All the while his tail was wagging. You laughed.

“Y/N.”

You looked back up to see the most beautiful boy you’d ever laid eyes on and nearly roll your eyes at the cliche that just popped into your head. He was a stunner. He was a legend. He was a god. Mr. Nakamoto was dressed in business professional attire of a finely tailored gray suit. His dark brown hair was slicked back and your breathing hitched. His brown eyes were sharp and captivating. And-

Cool it, Y/N. He may have a Shiba and he may be hot as fuck. But you gotta reel it in.

“Mr. Nakamoto?” You asked.

He smirked. “Call me Yuta. It’s really nice to meet you. Can I take your bag?”

“It’s nice to meet you, too.” You shook your head when you saw him reach his arm out to grab your Captain Marvel themed bag. Your bag wasn’t that heavy. “Oh, that’s okay. I got it.”

He nodded. “I’ll show you around. Thanks for coming so early.”

And suddenly you forgot that you were cursing yourself for taking the gig since you had to wake up at 5:30 AM to get ready so you can meet Yuta at 7:30 AM. Miami traffic was merciless even at 6:30 in the morning.

“It’s fine,” you said.

Yuta opened the front door and said, “After you.”

Hero ran in right after and you could hear the pitter pat of his feet and grinned. Dogs were effortless in making people laugh. That’s one of the things you loved most about them.

Dog toys were all over the wooden floor. Including a soccer ball. Three different pairs of shoes were placed beside the door. There was a lot of wooden furnishings and there were a couple of sliding doors. You noted that the interior of the house was very reminiscent of Japanese interior design.

“This is a really nice place you got here,” you said.

Yuta laughed. “You don’t have to lie. It’s a mess. I’m sorry about that. But Hero likes it that way.”

“Oh I don’t think it’s fair to pin it all on Hero.”

Hero was right on Yuta’s heels, staring up in adoration at his owner. You could feel their connection to each other and you knew that Yuta really loved him. Yuta looked down at Hero and rubbed his head.

“Maybe you’re right,” Yuta said as he looked back up at you. “Do you want something to drink? Eat? I made scrambled eggs.”

“Sounds good. I don’t want to keep you, though.” You remembered he had a flight to catch soon. Miami International Airport was very unforgiving.

Yuta’s eyes grew noticeably bigger. “Oh, yeah. Well, the tour’s quick. You got all of my instructions via email anyway. If you have any questions at any time, don’t hesitate to text. I can only take phone calls after 10 at night since my meetings are running late this weekend. I apologize.”

“It’s no problem.”

Yuta smiled. “If you’ll follow me.” He walked you down the hall and showed you the different rooms in the house. Hero was allowed to roam as he pleased. He usually liked to sleep in Yuta’s bed but he also had a bed in the living room. And a bed in the kitchen because Yuta sometimes liked to get a midnight snack and it was almost as if Hero knew that. Then, Hero would seize the opportunity to guilt trip Yuta into giving him something to munch on.

You were living for Yuta’s anecdotes.

“So the last door on the left is my room, which Hero can sleep in. But I’m pretty sure he’ll be with you. If you don’t mind keeping your room open. Which brings me to the guest room,” Yuta said.

He pushed the sliding door open and revealed a comfortable floor bed with a floor desk that had a cute little cactus and lamp on it.

“If you’d like extra blankets, the linen closet has a lot. Go nuts.” He laughed.

“Thanks, Yuta. I really appreciate it.” Most of your clients were nice people. Some were a little chaotic. But then, by the grace of God, you stumbled on a miracle.

You and Yuta walked back to the entrance.

“Well, I’m off,” Yuta said, “Thanks again for doing this, Y/N.” A strand of his hair fell into his eyes and he tucked it behind his ear. You imagined him doing that to your hair and you blushed, feeling guilty over fantasizing about a client you’d only see once more when he came back to make sure you didn’t kidnap Hero.

You nodded. “You’re welcome...Uh, safe travels...Yeah.” Lord, help you.

He gave you a knowing smile. He had to be aware of the effect he had on people. Whatever his line of work, he was probably the most magnetic person there.

“Bye,” he said in a playful tone. He knelt down and pet Hero. “You be good, alright?” Hero barked. The first time you heard him today.

10

You sat on the couch with Hero watching the news. Taking care of Hero consisted of taking him on a walk a couple of times a day. Taking him to the dog park this afternoon since Saturday afternoons were for dog park visits. Feeding him his meals. Giving him some treats as you said the commands Yuta suggested in his email. “Sit”, “play dead”, and “grab the remote”. You laughed at that last one.

You wondered how Yuta was doing. You thought it was funny that you were even thinking about him that way when you only talked to him for at most twenty minutes. There was no question you wanted to get to know him better.

Hero laid his head on your lap when you were texting your group chat that you shared with your three girlfriends: Joanna, Taissa, and Kaia.

HowRU Group Chat: We Clowned Clowns

Joanna: So how’s it going with the Shibs?

You: It’s good. His name’s Hero. Have contemplated kidnapping him. The owner’s really nice.

Kaia: Oh?

Taissa: That’s the first time you said an owner was nice so...you mean he’s NICE.

You: Yes.

Kaia: What aren’t you saying, Y/N?

Joanna: She likes him. He’s hot, isn’t he?

Taissa: Do you have pictures?

You: Sure in the 20 minutes we were together, I got 200 candids. Of course not!

Kaia: Can you tell us about him at least?

You: Dreamy. Slicked back brown hair. Brown eyes that basically hug you. Excellent cheekbones. A smile that will make you go blind if you look too long. About 5’9 if I had to compare his height to Kaia’s.

Joanna: So he’s short

Taissa: Not for Y/N and me. No.

Kaia: He’s short.

You: I’m gonna continue. His house is really nice. Japanese style. Wooden floor. I get to walk around in my bare feet. He keeps the place really tidy, even with all the dog toys.

Taissa: You need to snatch him up, Y/N.

You: I don’t think I can.

Joanna: Don’t go into a spiel about how you’re not good enough. I will not allow it. You are more than good enough for any man you want. Go for it.

Kaia: Yes, Y/N! Ask him out!

Taissa: Maybe he’ll even beat you to it! But think about it!

You: Read It and Woof doesn’t encourage fraternization between employee and client.

Taissa: Boo, those whores.

Even if Yuta was interested, the company was strict about dating. Maybe there was some leniency if you never worked for Yuta again. But that’s a huge maybe. And you liked your part-time job. You needed it to save up before you applied to get your Master’s. And you liked Hero and definitely wanted to see him again.

The same could be said about his owner.

You sighed and decided to order some pizza. Hero was eating his kibble for dinner when the doorbell rang. You checked the peephole and saw it was the pizza delivery girl. She looked very made-up with mascara and lipstick for someone who was delivering pizzas.

You opened the door and saw that the girl’s hopeful expression faded.

She said, deadpan, “Large pepperoni with stuffed cheesy bread?”

You nodded.

She handed you the merchant copy of the receipt to sign. You did. You handed her three bucks as her tip. She handed you the pizza and cheesy bread.

“So, are you his girlfriend?” She asked.

“What?” You frowned in confusion.

Then, you remembered you weren’t at your own house. You were at Yuta’s.

“Oh! No, I’m not. I’m pet sitting.”

The girl’s face became hopeful again and she looked less hostile. “Oh, okay! Well, have a good night!”

Well, that was fun.

You sat down at the kitchen table and enjoyed your meal. You decided to explore the house a little bit more.

You looked carefully at the walls and saw some photographs of Yuta and his family. He posed with two girls you guessed were his sisters. They were at Universal Studios Japan and hanging out with the minions. You smiled at Yuta’s very animated face. There was another formal picture of Yuta with his parents and who you now confirmed were his sisters. They all looked regal in their formal wear. You saw another picture of a younger Yuta playing soccer. That would explain the soccer ball in the living room, after all. You continued down the line and saw what you thought was a very recent picture of Yuta posing with his team:

The national Japanese soccer team.

And then you looked at the next picture and recognized David Beckham. Beckham was shaking hands with Yuta. The Inter Miami CF logo was at the bottom right corner of the photograph.

Whoa.

Yuta was an international soccer player. Your inner thirteen-year-old was screeching.

Hero’s pitter pats were getting closer and he stood by you.

You knelt down and pet him. “Hero, why didn’t you tell me Yuta was a soccer star?”

Hero nuzzled against your hand.

Your phone vibrated in your pocket. Yuta texted you.

Maybe I needed to change his contact name. It sounded...suggestive. Mr. Nakamoto will see you now.

HowRU Group Chat: With Mr. Nakamoto

Mr. Nakamoto: Hey. How’s it going? Did Hero trash the place yet?

You: Hi! It’s going well. Hero’s been a good doggo. How are things?

Mr. Nakamoto: That’s good to hear. It’s been stressful but it looks like things are going to work out.

You: How mysterious.

Mr. Nakamoto: It’s pretty boring, actually. But if all goes well, I get to stay in Miami for a long while.

You: I hope it does.

Mr. Nakamoto: Me, too :)

You debated bringing up what you discovered of Yuta but weren’t sure how to proceed with it. 

Hey Yuta, by the way, why didn’t you tell me you were a soccer sensation? 

Or...

Hey, Yuta, do you like Messi?

You decided to drop it. Maybe he’d mention it to you. Maybe he wouldn’t.

It would all depend on whether you guys would see each other again after the weekend was over.

Part 2 (Coming Soon)