Chapter Text
Chapter 01 - Meeting the Soldier
Pictou, North Carolina was a small beach town that came alive during the summer time. While the winter months made the area look deserted it was the opposite during the warm weather times to a point where the population almost tripled thanks to the tourists living inside the summer homes by the pier.
The past couple of summers had a different feel though, as the war that was ragging on the other side of the globe hosted a vast number of American soldiers. The medias kept saying that the bloodshed would come to an end soon, but everyone knew those words were too good to be true.
Rules had been set to join the forces. Any male that reached the age of eighteen had to enroll, while the women reaching the same age had to replace the missing men on the workforce at home. The war was hard on everyone, whether you were stuck here or you were stuck having to go over there…
Kei Tsukishima sighed. How he wished to be on the other side of the world right now.
“Hey, waitress! I want to place my order now, sweet heart!”
Kei shrugged as he continued his way to his current customer. Tadashi Yamaguchi, Kei’s longtime neighbor and best friend tried his best not to burst out laughing.
“Here’s your cola, idiot,” Kei offered as he tried his best to keep smiling.
“I’m sorry, Tsukki, I just can’t believe you can deal with assholes like him.”
The blonde sighed before pushing his glasses on the bridge of his nose. “Not my fault if I have to help my mother out.”
“True. But come on you could have at least taken a job in the kitchen.”
Kei’s parents owned a small diner just by the beach. While it was normally filled with jocks and their gals this time of year it had been different ever since the war had begun. Kei’s dad and older brother had both been ordered to join the army to serve overseas while Kei, who was barely sixteen, was stuck being a waiter at the diner until they could find some replacements for the men gone.
It pissed him to no end that while his father – an almost retired businessman – had been forced to serve at least one term other assholes such as the impolite customer sitting in the booth by the bathroom were allowed to stay put where it was safe only because the dumbass was too fat and stupid to wear the uniform.
People like him made Kei want to vomit on their food.
“Hey sweetie! Stop talking with your little boyfriend there! I want to order my food!”
Fucking son of a –
“It’s okay, Tsukki. Just calm down…”
Tadashi knew him all too well and knew what he was capable of when people pissed him off. Kei remembered once more that this was his father’s business and that he had promised him to watch over his mother and the place in his absence. He took a deep breath and headed to the old man’s booth with the biggest fake smile.
“Welcome.”
Keep smiling, Kei, he told himself.
“May I take your order, please?”
Stay cool, Kei. You don’t want a repeat of last time, right?
Kei looked down at the man; fat was an understatement, and it was cleared that he had been eating too many cheeseburgers in his lifetime. The man looked as awful as he smelled and it was a wonder how one could go out in public with the smell of old shoes following them around.
The old man looked up at Kei and smirked. Frowning, the teenager took a step back without saying a word.
Just fucking order, already!
“My, my! I thought the waitresses in here wore skirts. Where’s yours, sweetie?”
Kei wanted to vomit but decided that remaining his old self was the best way to get rid of this jackass. A ring of the doorbell was heard and Kei didn’t look back to see who was coming in. All he knew was that the new customer was going to sit on the other side of the diner.
“Well thank you for noticing the uniform change but I figured that having customers seeing me in a light-yellow skirt would freak the customers – and my mother – out. Would you like to make a complain to our manager? I am sure she would like to know why an old man who can’t even serve his country proudly would want to see her son in a lovely spring dress.”
The old man replied in mumbles as he managed to get out of his booth and then out of the restaurant. In the background Kei could hear Tadashi laugh his ass off and deep down Kei wished his friend would choke on his cola.
The blonde teenager sighed. Why were adults so fucking dumb?
Thinking that it was pointless to think about the whole thing Kei decided to move on and continue his job. After all there were other customers in the diner that were more friendly or didn’t give a crap who gave them their order as long as they were fed in a reasonable time. You had your usual customers: Mr. Rodgers and his wife – two over-eighty years old folks who always came at the diner at this time of the week for a coffee and a piece of apple pie to share. A couple of old ladies who came for the brunch menu and to gossip about other old ladies Kei didn’t know. A bunch of younger teens who stopped for ice cream before heading down the beach and then your normal stranger with black hair in a green uniform—
Wait… who was that guy?
“Tsukki? Tsukki? Kei??” The blonde felt someone poking him on his side.
Snapping out of his thoughts Kei looked at his friend. “What?”
“You were kind of not there anymore. Everything alright?”
Kei’s eyes went back to the newcomer. The guy was clearly a soldier who was traveling, either back from or to the war. He was young, and his rank suggested that he had been in the service for less than two years. So why didn’t Kei know who the guy was?
He’s kind of good looking, Kei shook his head before his thoughts would go down the drain. The other guy’s dark hair seemed rather wild for a soldier and even ran in front of his face, hiding his eyes from where Kei stood. The guy’s head was leaning against his right fist and seemed to be in deep though in over what to order, his head down looking at the menu in front of him.
Kei felt another poke to his side.
“Go offer him some coffee or something, already!” Tadashi whispered rather loudly.
“Y-Right! I am. I will. Err…”
Just move, Kei, he told himself. This was getting rather stupid and so out of his personality. He had to blame the uniform though…
… because that guy looked fucking amazing in it.
Kei walked to the counter to grab a half-filled coffee pot before finally getting to the new customer. “Coffee? On the house.”
The other man looked up from the menu – good God he looked even better from up close – and smiled. “You offer random coffee just like that for free?”
Keep it cool, Kei. “Well… for soldiers. Restaurant policy. Order from the owner who is actually serving.”
“Ah!” The guy nodded in thanks as he presented the empty cup in front of him. “Is he in ‘Nam, too?”
It was Kei’s turn to nod. “Been there for three months already.”
As the guy took a sip of the coffee Kei thought for a quick moment that he was jealous of that cup. He watched the guy enjoy his first drink and couldn’t help but to feel a shivering wave dancing through his body when the dark-haired soldier moan in delight at the taste of the hot drink.
“S-s-so! Erm…” Kei attempted, doing his best to keep his mind working. “You ready to order?”
The soldier placed his left hand in front of his mouth in thought, frowning as he looked back at the paper in front of him. “How about this?”
“You want the traditional breakfast? Sure. How do you want your eggs?”
“How would you recommend them?” the soldier looked up at Kei.
The natural light coming from the window hit the soldier’s facial features the right way. His hazel eyes showed a slight hint of fatigue which could be coming from traveling, Kei figured. His lips were slightly chapped and his cheeks were slightly red, perhaps because of the warm temperatures they had to deal with whilst he had to wear the thick olive-green uniform.
“So?” the soldier asked.
“Scrambled.” It was the first word that came to Kei’s scrambled mind. He hoped for a moment that whoever was working the kitchen at the moment was ready to make the world’s best scrambled eggs.
“I’ll go with that. White toasts and strawberry jam on the side, please. Oh, and more coffee, if I can.”
The soldier smiled. Kei smiled back. As he finished writing up the order on the small pad Kei gave the soldier one last gaze, inspecting him and taking notes of his everything.
It was then that he saw the soldier’s nametag on his chest.
Kuroo, Kei read in his mind before heading towards the kitchen.