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The tell-tale jingle of the coffee shop door sounded and Ahiru turned around, piping up cheerfully, "Hello, welcome to--"
She stopped short of her greeting when she saw the young man that walked through the front entrance. Her brows raised a little before furrowing in confusion. Without taking any time to think about it, she blurted, "Why are you back here again?"
Ignoring her, the dark haired customer made his way to the table furthest from any sort of social gathering within and sat down. A large duffel bag was slung over his arm---the very same one he had been wearing the day prior. Ahiru recognized it.
It wasn't really her business whether or not that man decide to come back, but it struck her as odd. Not only had she messed his order up yesterday, but she had accidentally spilled hot coffee upon his shirt when the top popped off of the styrofoam cup.
If glares had been capable of knocking people unconscious, she would have been on the floor in seconds. Clearly angry, he'd risen from his seat, complained about 'absolute morons' who couldn't do their job, and declared that he was never going to set foot into the establishment again.
Yet... that was unmistakably him in the corner, looking over a stack of papers he'd laid out on the table. She didn't know his name or anything about him aside from the fact that he had gotten incredibly aggravated with her incompetence.
There were plenty of other coffee shops in the area. That left him no reason to come back here where he'd been displeased with the service, right? She'd already gotten a lecture for that after the incident... it was actually something of a surprise that she managed to keep the job.
Ahiru was jolted from her thoughts when she felt a jab in her side and looked up to see the manager giving her a very distasteful glower. She forced a rather nervous smile.
"Er... am I needed in back for something?"
"There's a customer waiting to take their order. Why are you standing around over here and staring into space?"
Ahiru paled at the thought of having to approach that guy again. "B--But he's...!"
The manager folded her arms. "We try to keep customers here, not scare them away. I think you owe him an apology. Don't screw up this time."
"I apologized when I spilled it! I can't help that he--" She cut herself off when the manager narrowed her carefully-penciled eyebrows. "I--I mean... I'm on my way."
Reluctantly, Ahiru made her way over to the irritable young man, pulling her small notepad out of her stained apron. She just had... a bad feeling about this. Wouldn't the manager have wanted to send the other waitress to get his order instead? Lena was bound to make a better impression...
Once she stood in front of the table the man was seated at, Ahiru cleared her throat. His attention was clearly still upon the stack of documents laid out before him---he didn't so much as even glance up at her.
Was he doing this on purpose?
"E-Excuse me... I'll take your order, if you're ready."
Tick, tick, tick. The clock just a few meters away counted the seconds of silence. Ahiru could feel sweat starting to form on her brow.
"I---I'm really sorry about yesterday. That was clumsy of me and I'm sorry I got your slip mixed up with another customer's. W--We're really glad you decided to come back and--"
"Did your boss tell you to say that?"
Ahiru's mouth went slack. He was looking up at her now, and in just as friendly a manner as the previous day.
"I... well, I apologized to you yesterday, but you were really mad and--"
"Answer the question."
The redhead paused, gripping her notebook in front of her. "Well, sort of..."
He scoffed, looking back down at his papers. "I have ears, you moron. I could hear exactly what you said when I walked in. You had no intention of apologizing and I'm sure you're not 'glad' that I came back at all."
"Look, I was just trying to be nice!" Oh boy--this wasn't good. She could feel herself losing her cool. It seemed so easy to do in this guy's presence. "I was surprised you came back, 'cause you said you weren't going to!"
"Hn. Well, if you remember anything, you'll realize that I didn't even get to try the damn coffee, since you dumped it all over my clothes."
Her face was reddening in embarrassment. She could feel it. Gosh, she hoped the other patrons here weren't watching this. She'd better try to be professional about this, if she wanted to keep her job.
"H-Here, I'll take your order. I'll get it right this time." She readied her pad.
The man brushed her off with a wave of his hand in dismissal. "I'd rather give my order to someone competent."
...He was really testing her patience.
"Give me a chance!" she persisted. "I made a mistake. Everyone makes mistakes, right?"
"Give you a chance to ruin this shirt, as well? I'd rather not."
"Please, Mister. My boss did tell me to come over here and I admit I didn't want to because I didn't want to make you mad again! B-But I really owe you after yesterday."
"Just get someone that can--"
"I'll pay for it!" she near-shouted, and raised a hand up to her mouth immediately after the outburst. "I--I mean, I'll pay for your coffee to make up for it. Is that enough?"
He gave a gruff sigh, leaning his head against one arm propped up on the table. "I don't want your charity."
"Please just let me---"
"At least look like you're prepared to take an order. I don't have all day."
"O-Oh!" she straightened, flipping her notebook open and poising the pen to the paper. "Right--I'm ready! What would you like?"
"Coffee, regular. I want it black. Don't bring some odd concoction of cream and sugar back here this time."
Ahiru jotted it down, nodding. At least now he had relented enough to let her take his order without any further fuss. "Right. One regular coffee, no cream or sugar. Coming right up!"
Flashing her trademark smile, fueled by a special determination, she spun on heel and headed off to fix his order.
This time, she would get it right.
-----------
"H-Here you are, sir!" This time, Ahiru took extra special care in setting the hot container down before the surly customer, well-aware that he was leaning back in efforts not to get hot coffee spilled down his front again. With that disaster avoided, she stepped back. "I hope you enjoy it..."
The young man was about to take hold of the cup, but paused, looking back up at her with a raised brow. "What are you still standing here for?"
She could feel a slight heat raise to her cheeks again and sputtered, "I--I just want to make sure you're not disappointed this time. And if you are, then I'll go back and make another one! I'll do that until you're satisfied with your coffee!"
He stared for a moment before he rolled his eyes. "It's just coffee. Are you in danger of losing your job if I'm dissatisfied or something?"
"Well, I don't think so..." she spoke, a little unsure. "But I really am sorry about yesterday. I didn't mean to ruin your shirt or bring you the wrong order the first time. My boss isn't telling me to do this right now. I just... I want to get it right. I don't like seeing customers leave because they're unhappy and if there's anything I can do to fix that, then..."
"You have other customers to attend to, don't you?"
"Things slowed down a little, but... can't you just try it? Really quick? Then I'll leave you be, I promise."
He didn't respond, but it seemed like he was finally giving in to her request. Popping the top latch, he blew a little into the little opening and took a careful swig. Ahiru could feel her hands tensing in their grip on her uniform. Why was she so nervous about this?
There was a measure of silence that followed afterward. Ahiru couldn't make out what the expression was on his face, but at least he didn't look disgusted.
"...It's good," he finally spoke.
Her smile lit up like a beacon, filled not only with relief, but also happiness, as well. "I'm so glad!"
-----------
"Don't you find it kinda strange?"
"Huh?" Ahiru looked up from where she was filling a cappuccino order, her gaze meeting that of her coworker, Lena.
"That guy... the one you spilled coffee on a couple weeks ago. He only seems to come in here when you're working. And your schedule is kinda weird, isn't it? You're always changing shifts."
"What guy?" She tapped her chin for a moment in mock-thought. Then it dawned on her. "Oh, you mean Fakir?"
Lena's green eyes widened. "Wait, you even know his name?"
Hastily, Ahiru turned back to the machine and abruptly realized that she had let the cup overflow. Her cheeks burned. "W-What? Is that so weird? I just asked what it was once a couple days ago, since he comes here a lot."
While she was mopping away at the overflow mess, the other young woman grinned. "I'd sure say it's weird, 'hiru. He doesn't even talk to anyone else."
"He doesn't say much to me either!" the redhead protested immediately. Why was she getting so worked up about this?
"So you say." Lena shrugged. "But he's handsome, don't you think?"
The cap on the cup, which Ahiru had been trying to situate on top, went flying. She swiftly bent down to pick it up. "W-What kind of question is that? I mean--sure, he's good looking. But he's really distant and he calls me a moron."
"I think he likes you."
"Lena!" Ahiru accidentally fumbled the cap a second time, making wild grabs for it. "That's---there's no way! I think you're just seeing stuff that isn't there."
Once more, her coworker shrugged, but the knowing smile remained. "I admit, I don't think that guy could flirt his way out of a paper bag and neither could you, but I think I'm on to something..."
"You're not," the redhead insisted vehemently, finally situating a cover onto the coffee properly.
"So you say," the brunette sing-songed, turning her attention back to the dishes.
And despite her denial, Ahiru hadn't been able to keep Fakir out of her mind for the rest of the shift.
---------
"Wait."
"Hm?" Ahiru turned back around, the long-standing customer by the name of Fakir Lohen staring back at her. And he was gesturing at his cup.
"Don't forget the cream."
"Eh? You want to try that again?" She was honestly surprised. And it showed plain as day on her features. "You always used to get your coffee black."
He abruptly turned to look out the window, though upon a glance of her own, she couldn't see anything of particular interest out there. "...It doesn't hurt to change things once in awhile."
Ahiru blinked once as she took in his oddly soft-toned response, but then moved to comply, fetching a small carton of cream. Pulling the tab back, she brought it toward his steaming cup. "How much this time?"
"Same as before. Just one drop."
Her brows furrowed. "...Y'know, I don't get it. One drop of cream isn't gonna make any difference. You're not going to taste it."
He sighed, giving her that look she had come to associate with exasperation. "Just put it in, moron."
Ahiru barely resisted the childish urge to stick her tongue out at him. "Fine, the customer is always right," she mocked. "Here's your insignificant drop of cream, sir."
And just as he asked, one little drop momentarily dotted the surface of the hot coffee before it spread its milky tendrils and disappeared in seconds. For someone who had always seemed to care so much about doing things so precisely and having everything cut out in black and white, Ahiru definitely found it odd that Fakir had taken to this 'single drop of cream' in his coffee.
But he obviously wasn't intent on explaining it to her. "Is that all?"
"Hn. For now." he conceded.
Why Ahiru felt those words held more weight to them, she wasn't sure. Nonetheless, she nodded and left him to his coffee.
He was definitely acting a little stranger lately.
---------
"Did you add the--"
"I didn't forget the drop," she assured him quickly. "Though I really just think you're waiting for when I accidentally put more in than you asked for so you can get all huffy and complain."
He eyed her coolly as he took a small sip from the cup. "That's four of my shirts you've stained now, total, you know. And three pairs of pants."'
She nearly dropped the pen she was holding. "You're keeping count?"
"Of course. And when the time comes, you can pay me back for those mistakes."
Ahiru's hands went to her hips. "Hey, I offered you free coffee every time I made a mistake or spilled something by accident. You always say that you won't accept anything from me!"
"I don't want your money or free coffee," he responded nonchalantly.
"Then... then what exactly do you want from me?"
"Do you want to repay your debt now, or would you rather wait?"
Her cheeks blew out in annoyance. "Of course I'd rather repay it now! What do you expect me to do? Do you want me to pay for the cleaning costs? Buy you a new shirt? ...Well?"
...Were her eyes playing tricks on her, or was he fidgeting with the flap of his duffel bag?
"It's... it's simple," he finally responded, though he wasn't looking at her. "Take a sheet of your notebook. I want you to write something."
"What is this, high school detention?" she drawled with a sour tone. But as he requested, she flipped her notebook open and poised her pen. "All right, what do you want me to write? 'I am a moron and I ruined Fakir's clothes numerous times'?"
"No," he spoke, but seemed to hesitate before he continued. His green eyes were still looking down at his coffee. "Just a number. Seven digits for seven pieces of clothing."
...Okay, now she was really confused.
"What are you talking about? You want me to write a number? Any number with seven digits?"
"Your number."
He had spoken in such a low tone that she almost missed it. Quizzically, her blue eyes stared down at him. "My... number?"
"Your phone number, idiot!" he snapped, his head turning back up to face her. It was the first time she could ever say that he looked flustered. His cheeks were definitely red.
And then she realized exactly what he was really asking for and she blushed scarlet. "My... you want my...?"
"That's all I want in return," he spoke quickly, whipping his head away again. "But you don't have to give it to me if you don't want to."
She could feel her heart pounding. There was only one reason that he would ask for that, right? Was this really happening?
Ahiru jotted down the digits with shaky fingers---and then realizing that one number was wrong, scribbled it out and put the right one in its place. Gingerly tearing it out of her notebook, she placed it beside his arm. "H... here."
He still didn't look up again, but she watched his fingers take the piece of paper. "...When can I call."
"I..." This seemed so surreal. Lena couldn't have been right, could she? And yet... there wasn't any other reason she could think of for him to ask for her number. "A-Anytime after six on weekdays. And weekends are fine, too."
"...Thanks." He stood up so abruptly that she nearly jumped. But from one moment to the next, he had slung the bag over his shoulder, grabbed the coffee, and stalked toward the door.
Ahiru watched, bewildered at what just transpired, and further surprised by the fact that he hit his forehead on the door frame on the way out.
Not once had she ever seen Fakir do anything clumsy until that moment.