Chapter Text
“Tall quad shot americano, please.”
Genos was sure he wasn't going to get any customers this late at night, but the disheveled looking guy in front of his register seemed bent on proving him wrong.
He'd agreed to take the night shift because his manager had given him the okay to study during the shop’s down time. Fubuki was pretty lenient, it was her sister that always wanted Genos to 'look busy’ when he was in the shop.
He quickly put a sticky note to mark his place in his textbook, before focusing on the man placing the order.
“Would you like your americano hot or iced?”
“Which one is cheaper?”
Genos looked across the counter,
“Sir? You're adding extra shots it's gonna be the same price anyways.”
“Then hot I guess”
“Okay, it'll be $4.95 please!”
Genos waited patiently as the man dug through his pockets for change. He'd already put four dollars on the counter and was searching for more coins, which gave the barista some time to observe the man a little longer.
What first struck him was the customer's hair, or lack of it. His head was completely bald, the skin a smooth pale cream color that Genos thought had no right to look as soft as it did. But the man was young still, the lack of wrinkles evident that the baldness was probably a choice rather than an unfortunate case of early hair loss. He was probably only a few years older than Genos, could probably be a grad student at the same college he attended.
Once the man had fished out enough change, he made the effort to smooth out the bills and hand them to Genos.
“Can I get a name for the drink please?”
The man looked at him for a very long moment, almost as if he was too tired to remember his own name, but finally
“Sai is fine.”
“I'll have your americano out in just a bit, Sai! Thank you for your purchase!”
Now, Genos knew this particular drink was as simple as you could get, so he made sure to take as much time as possible to observe the man even more.
Except it seemed as though he'd be staying for a while, because he'd started setting up at one of the small tables in the shop. Genos brought out one of the nicer mugs and when he called out the drink, he stayed until the man, Sai he reminded himself, had picked it up from the counter.
It was nice, Genos thought to himself, this small form of company in the shop. Sai had pulled out a stack of papers and was steadily slashing through them with bright red and yellow pens. The scratch-scratch a soft background noise as Genos wiped down the espresso machines and fridges.
Perhaps he was a TA, which would explain the numerous papers he'd been going through, but Genos was too nervous to interrupt him. Besides, he'd probably come to the small coffee shop for peace and quiet, Genos talking to him would probably defeat that purpose.
Sai stayed at the table for well over two hours. Genos had meticulously measured the minutes between cleaning and helping the occasional customer, none of which stayed in the shop for very long.
Genos learned a lot about the man that night. He learned that he chewed on the tip of his pen when contemplating things. And that he drank his americano black, without even a hint of sweetener or milk to cut the bitter taste. At one point, he’d pulled out a bag of trail mix and started munching in between sips of coffee, except he seemed to avoid the raisins in the mix. Genos could see the pile of them growing steadily as the hours ticked by, looking sad and lonely on the small saucer that he’d put the americano on. He also learned that underneath the baggy sweater and loose-fitting shirt, Sai had quite a spectacular physique. He’d nearly spilled a customer’s latte when he watched the bald man stretch and his shirt rode up to offer a tantalizing view of sculpted abs.
At almost eleven, Genos had to finally gather his courage and tell his customer and object of observation that they’d be closing soon.
“Umm… Excuse me sir, ah… Sai… The shop will be closing in fifteen minutes.”
He’d called out to him from behind the counter, but it seemed the older man hadn’t heard him, so Genos walked around to his table and lightly tapped him on the shoulder.
“Sir, we’ll be closing in fifteen minutes.”
His customer seemed to snap out of his hyper-focused state, head whipping around so fast Genos felt a twinge in his own neck in sympathy. Genos hadn’t noticed, but that concentration seemed to even affect Sai’s physical appearance, eyes sharper and facial features more defined, and if Genos was being perfectly honest, making him look even more attractive. But it was gone all too quickly, replaced by the same relaxed expression he’d walked in with. He’d glanced at the small watch on his wrist and his eyes widened,
“Oh. I didn’t even realize it was this late! I’ll be gone in an instant, sorry if I kept you here longer than you needed to be. Next time, just tell me an hour or so before you close and I’ll be out of your way.”
True to his word, Sai somehow had everything packed up into his bag and was out the door faster than Genos could reply.
Genos was left with an empty mug, a saucer full of raisins, and the words ‘next time’ forming on his lips.