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It had been a shitty day.
Objectively and rationally speaking of course.
Yaku wasn't one to complain at every little inconvenience, in fact he didn't mind a couple here or there, life was life. And Yaku knew how to take it in stride.
But that morning had been particularly horrendous. It started with him over sleeping since his phone hadn't been charging all night, which made him late for rehearsal, meaning he skipped a proper breakfast in favor of scarfing down a protein bar and had to endure an agonizing three hours of morning rehearsal nearly starving. And severely under-caffeinated to boot. He was also more than a little snappy at his mostly undeserving bandmates and tech crew. Thankfully, Semi had the sense to end rehearsal for an early lunch and Yaku scampered out of there in search of a source of coffee and food.
So here he was. A little hole in the wall café with only a couple patrons and plenty of free tables. He finds himself patiently waiting behind one other customer as he perused the menu, the café was decently versatile in its food selection and he was jumping between a couple dishes.
“Good morning!” Greets the cashier. A tall man with either a really strange style choice for hair or an unfortunate case of bedhead and an overly large smile in place. “What can we do for ya?”
“Morning. Can I get a large black coffee—iced—and, uh 2 pumps of vanilla. And I'll also get the special sandwich and a side salad.”
“Big appetite huh?”
“Skipped breakfast. Making up for it right now.” He shrugs, catching a glimpse of another employee moving behind the counter. This one was tall. Taller than the cashier, freakishly tall as far as Yaku was concerned. Lanky. But definitely not unattractive he idly thinks. With beautiful eyes.
The cashier gives a little hum as he punched in the order. “Your total is ¥2500. Cash or card?”
“Card.”
Sharp green eyes seem to study him as their owner begins making his drink. Yaku pays, thanks the cashier, takes his number and finds a secluded little corner near some plants, and a much-needed outlet.
He passes the time catching up on his newsfeeds and responding to a few messages.
“Here you go!” The freakishly tall barista from earlier sets the cup down alongside his plates a little too energetically, jostling the table decorations.
“Thanks.” Yaku expects him to leave but apparently not. He seems to be studying him, his brows draw together and his lower lip jutting out in a slight pout. “Something I can help you with..?”
“Erm. Sorry, it’s just. You seem familiar..” Yaku allows the barista to stare at him as the gears in his head turned. Yaku doesn't mind it, and the kid seemed nice enough. Obviously not a fan, but perhaps a casual listener to their music, the band was starting a steady rise to popularity and going out was becoming more and more of a hassle. Though, he isn’t one to usually get accosted by fans—that was Semi and Kenma’s unfortunate luck—if he kept a low profile. Perks of not being a vocalist.
Hell, Yaku wouldn't even mind signing something for him if asked.
Brows shot up as green eyes widen, realization dawning on his features.
“Oh! Wow! You're a lot smaller in person!”
And just like that, Yaku takes back every nice thought he had of the other and feels his blood pressure rise, along with the urge to take a swing at his shins. Deep breaths Morisuke. He reminds himself, roundhouse kicking a person was not good publicity. No matter how deserving. And especially since the kid was an employee.
“Excuse. Me?” Yaku bites out. His grin turning more and more forced by the millisecond, the twitch in his brow had also returned with a vengeance.
“You’re like, so small. I thought you'd be taller! How tall are your bandmates? They can't be that tall either if you looked taller next to them!” The kid had the audacity.
“LEV!” Before Yaku could give him a piece of his mind another voice cuts through the air and the kid goes rigid. The two look over to the counter to find his coworkers suddenly slammed and taking orders for a growing line.
Looking quite torn between returning to his job or continuing to test Yaku's patience the employee—Lev apparently—flashes him a quick smile before returning back behind the counter.
Saved by the lunch rush.
°°°
Yaku spends the better part of nearly two hours at the café. Despite the sudden rush it was still a pleasant place to be and he doesn't mind the extra background noise. He occupies his time alternating between eating and answering messages from friends and his bandmates.
Downing his last bit of coffee Yaku finds himself feeling much more human now than he was decently caffeinated and fed. The short interaction with the lanky barista mostly forgotten.
Yaku busses his dishes and make sure to leave the table spotless before he snatches up his jacket and makes his way to the door. He bids good bye to the employee from earlier, who has switched to making the drinks, and a new one ringing up the orders.
“Wait!” Being the only other person on the street Yaku turns around, smile in place in case of a fan. That was not the case. He comes face to chest with the too tall café employee from earlier.
“Can I help you?”
“I—I wanted to introduce myself! I’m Haiba Lev, and I’m a fan!”
“Nice to meet you, Haiba-kun.” Yaku automatically sticks out his hand to be shook, standard routine when meeting a fan.
“Lev is fine! Oh wow...your hands are small too!”
Dead meat.
In a flash Yaku yanks his hand away and takes a swing at the back of his knees, bringing him down to Yaku's level.
“Didn't your parents ever tell you to keep your trap shut if you have nothing nice to say! If you're a fan you should at least know I dislike talking about height.” With a huff Yaku turns around and fights the urge to stomp off like a child. “Look kid, I’ve got a bakery or something to look for before rehearsal. So, if you’ll excuse me.”
“I’m a new listener! A friend from school just showed me your music so of course I wouldn't recognize you right away! And I'm not a kid, I'm 20! And—and I didn't mean calling you short as an insult! You are small. I was surprised!” Lev is already back on his feet, the pain having disappeared as quickly as it came.
Yaku's lips twitch, a scathing comment already at the tip of his tongue, just begging to be unleashed.
“It's not a bad thing, it's like, cute! Yeah! Cute—like when you see a small animal!” Lev's eyes light up upon making the comparison, a wide grin plastered on his features. “And! I can make it up to you! I know a really delicious bakery that’s super tasty. It's close by. I'll take you!”
Yaku is left speechless. He isn’t quite sure how to respond. His brain grinds to a halt and trying to work through the jumbled word before deciding to just nod in agreement. He couldn’t find the words to dissuade the kid, and the benefit of having a local show him a bakery outweighed the minor annoyance.
“Really? Awesome! Right this way!” Before he knows it Yaku is being led down the street. The kid—Lev, he reminds himself—chattering away and point out little shops they passed along. The street they were on wasn't busy, perhaps a back road used more by locals than tourists. Yaku finds himself having to quicken his strides to even stay three steps behind the other.
Just another reason to curse what the Gods had given tall people.
“Oi! I’m going to need you to slow down you beanpole!” Yaku finally calls out. Lev turns and finally seems to notice the distance between them, stopping dead in his tracks.
Yaku catches up swiftly and the two restart their walk, at a more reasonable pace. The walk isn't long, maybe twenty minutes at most, and Lev spends the entire time filling the air with chatter. He points out little shops and businesses as they pass by, giving recommendations and going on tangents about the owners and employees. He’s friendly, Yaku thinks, seeing as how he seems to know everything about everyone.
They finally stop before a beautiful storefront, window decorations minimum but elegant. There were trays and trays of baked goods in the display and Yaku knows for a fact that Kenma would have a field day in the small shop. Hopefully his friends would appreciate the treats to make up for their rough morning.
Lev holds the door open as they enter. The shop is small, cozy, and smelled of the most delicious pastries—buttery and sweet. They were greeted by an older woman with thin rimmed wire glasses as she placed a new tray of turnovers into the case.
“Ah! Lev-kun, welcome back! Did Alisa-san send you for some scones again?”
“Oh. Uh no, not this time! I’m showing a friend around.”
“Ah, why hello dear! Almost, didn't see you over the cases.” Yaku senses how Lev tenses beside him and almost laughs. Unlike Lev, Yaku knew how to respect people older than himself.
“Hello ma'am.”
“Anything catch your eye?”
“Yes, these all look really delicious. Could I get a box to-go? I’m picking up treats for friends.”
“Ah, what a sweet young man.” The woman giggles, “What size?”
“Um, how large is your largest one?” Yaku nods as the woman produces a pastel pink and while stripped box. He hums as he perused the cases, “Do these have an apple filling?”
“Yes they do.”
Yaku begins filling the box with various pastries, several with apple fillings specifically and a variety of other ones at the woman’s recommendation. Once he was done the box is filled to the brim piled with an assortment of the shop's most popular treats.
Yaku orders a fresh turnover for himself and pulls out his wallet before turning to Lev.
“What do you want?” Lev jumps when he is addressed. Eyes wide as he looks from Yaku to the woman and back again. Yaku raises a brow and rolls his eyes. “Well? What do you want? My treat.”
“Uh, I’ll have a turnover too! Whatever flavour is fine.”
He watches as Yaku pays for the order and goes to claim a table near the windows. Lev is left to bring their orders to join him.
“Thank you!” Lev says right before biting into the warm pastry, flakes of dough scattering all over him. On anyone else Yaku might’ve made a comment about manners and age, but he is more amused than anything else. He carefully bites into his own, cupping his hand to catch crumbs. Perfectly sweet tartness bursts across his palate, the crunch of the dough complementing the fresh fruit jam in ways only something handmade could achieve. It was divine and Yaku might have never found it if not for Lev. He easy finishes half of it before looking up to see Lev mostly done, with crumbs all over himself and the table, a smear of jam at the corner of his lips.
Without a moment's thought Yaku reaches over and wipes the bit off with his thumb before sticking it in his mouth. Hm, Lev's filling had been sweeter.
°°°
“Looks like my ride is here.” Yaku says as a dark car pulls up. He checks the license plate just to make sure before standing. The two stand outside the shop having finished their pastries and chatting for nearly an hour. Yaku regrettably still had final rehearsal and had his manager come get him as soon as he realized the time. He makes it a couple steps before turning around, “I guess it goes without saying, but thanks for showing me around. I appreciated it.”
He shoves his hand into a pocket, fingers brushing across the rough edge of torn paper.
Oh. He had forgotten about those.
Yaku chews on his bottom lip for a moment, before he steals a glance and catches the brief disappointment flitting across Lev's features.
“And I had fun.” He tacks on quickly, wanting the beginnings of a frown to disappear as soon as possible. The kid looked like a drowned cat and it was pulling in too many heartstrings for him to properly handle.
Lev's head shoots up at the comment and he quickly gets to his feet, almost scrambling to make up the minuscule distance between them.
“I guess it would be silly to say we should do this again.” He looked nervous, cheeks flushed and ruddy, “But, I really enjoyed today with Yaku-san! And—and if you’re ever around again please come by the café again!” Somehow this stranger, who had started off as an annoyance, had endeared himself to Yaku in a mere few hours. He almost wants to take him with him.
“Here.” Yaku shoves the papers into the Lev's chest.
“What’s this?” Large hands come up to grasp his own.
“An extra couple tickets to tonight’s show. If you've got nothing else going on, feel free to come through with a friend.” Yaku leaves it at that before ducking into the car, greeting the driver and someone in the front seat, tucking his box of treats into the adjoining seat.
“I’ll definitely come!!” Lev declares, clutching onto the tickets like a lifeline. Green eyes glittering with excitement and awe.
“If that’s the case. See you soon.” Yaku flashes a cheeky grin before closing the door.
°°°
“You're in a good mood.” Semi comments, brow raised in curiosity as he enters the venue.
Yaku doesn’t dignify the statement with an answer. Only humming as he unlocks his case and pulls out his guitar. He slings the strap over a shoulder and begins tuning his instrument. Thankful to have something to channel restless energy into.
Semi doesn't push it and goes back to adjusting the strap on his bass. The rest of their bandmates and crew busy themselves with other final tasks before they begin final rehearsal. With a satisfied hummed Yaku plucks a pick from his case and follows Semi onto the stage, ready for one last go around and hoping to catch a certain shade of green in the front rows that night.
Perhaps the day hadn't been that bad after all.