Chapter Text
To most people, the smell of coffee is a welcome aroma. The sweet fragrance of caramel and vanilla that wafts through the air can bring a smile as well. Even the sound of milk being steamed and of cups being moved between hands can make an exhausted person’s eyes perk up just a little.
But not for Koushi Sugawara who has taken yet another order for an iced caramel macchiato, upside down.
“Don’t these people know that they’re just ordering a vanilla latte with caramel drizzle on top?” He grumbles once the customer is out of earshot.
“Suga, you can be pretty judgmental, you know that?”
Suga hands the cup off to his coworker and turns around to see his manager and owner of the coffee shop, Takeda, behind him.
“And some tourists can just be…”
“If you finish that sentence, I might actually have to fire you, you know?” Takeda cuts him off. Of course, he follows it up with that same smile that Suga has known almost his entire life. The one that screams “Obviously I’m kidding because on the inside I am but a soft cinnamon roll who will do anything for my favorite nephew who’s not actually my nephew.”
“I know, I know,” Suga relents before turning back to face the front where yet another one of those “ tourists ” has walked in.
There’s something about the eagerness in their step, and the way they carry themselves like they own everything in sight irks Suga to no end. Especially because he was raised here on this island his entire life. An island that once felt like a paradise in the cold Pacific Northwest but has become a prison trapped within raging waters and one ferry dock.
“What can I get started for you?” Suga asks, not meeting the tourist’s eyes. He just can’t bring himself to look another one of them in the eyes today. He only needs to hang in here for another thirty minutes. Then he can finally go home to stare at his ceiling for hours before falling asleep and doing this all over again.
“Ummm, so what’s in a ‘Crow’s Nest Special Latte?’” The tourist asks, with the most expensive and, to Suga, obnoxious camera hanging over his chest.
A nice chest that is clearly defined under his shirt that would look way better without the oh so touristy camera or… shirt at all. Suga almost gets wrapped up in how attractive this tourist's body is until he sees the large piece of paper in his hand. An honest-to-God physical map of San Juan Island with horrible proportioned landmarks and those half-assed advertisements for blatant tourist traps. The only saving grace for this mess of a tourist would be if his face was actually drawn by Naoko Takeuchi, to rival Tuxedo Mask himself. But even that might not be able to save him from Suga’s judgment.
“Honestly, it’s just a vanilla latte with some activated charcoal to make the drink black like crows,” Suga answers once he’s able to stop daydreaming about Tuxedo Mask coming in to do the bare minimum but looking handsome all the same. Just thirty minutes until he can do the absolute bare minimum at home too.
“Interesting,” the tourist replies. “I guess it makes sense given that this place is called the Crow’s Nest. Just reminds me of home.”
Suga can tell that this still nameless tourist is fishing for the clearly set up follow-up question of: “So where are you from, Mr. Nice Arms and Upper Body and… Oh My God, this guy is actually really cute.” And with that, what was once scathing indifference to anything this tourist said is now Suga being tongue-tied by this man’s piercing brown eyes, incredibly symmetrical and captivating smile, and hair, swept by the ocean wind from the ferry.
“Uhh-” Suga lets out before letting out a deep breath, trying to calm the storm in his panicking gay brain.
“I’m from a small town in Pennsylvania called Crow’s Landing,” the tourist continues, clearly unperturbed by Suga’s lack of human speech. “But you don’t need to listen to a tourist when you’re just trying to do your job, do you?” The man laughs, filling the small coffee shop with a sound Suga doesn’t hate for once.
“Oh no, that’s not-” Suga starts.
He wants to say that it’s alright and he wouldn’t mind hearing more about this oddly named town in such an irrelevant state but quickly realizes why he never asks more. Not from people in his life and especially not from tourists. One day, they’ll leave. Somehow, someway they’ll be gone from his life whether by the ferry on its regular schedule or by something much darker and crueler.
“Do you want the Crow’s Nest Special or something else?” Suga asks again, his face deadpan once again as that inalienable truth resounds in his mind. It doesn’t matter how hot this guy in front of him is. He’s still a tourist with a bulky camera, tacky map, and a too-wide smile on.
“Oh, I’ll just get a medium iced coffee,” the tourist says as he takes out his credit card.
“It’s actually a $5 minimum to use credit. I can get you a large unless you have cash.”
“That’s fine. I can use the energy. The ferry ride was pretty-”
“Can I get a name for the order?” Suga interrupts him, ready to get this transaction over with even if he knows he’s being a bit rude. For some reason, this one interaction is weighing on him more than usual. He’s used to being indifferent to tourists but this one feels different. He doesn’t know or care to find out why.
“Daichi,” the man says, holding his credit card up to Suga so he can read his name. Daichi Sawamura. “If people don’t ask how to spell it, it usually ends up being like ‘Die-chee’ with D I E. I was thinking of just using something like Daniel but-”
“Alright, Daichi, your drink will be ready over there,” Suga points towards the handoff point. “Have a wonderful time on San Juan Island.”
“Uhhh, thanks...” Daichi responds before walking away, his eyebrows scrunched ever so slightly.
“You could have been way nicer to him,” Takeda’s familiar pseudo-fatherly voice comes from behind Suga. “Especially because you were way interested in him.”
“Well I could have- wait,” Suga turns to look at Takeda face-to-face and feels his heart beat faster when he sees Takeda’s smirk. A smirk he can’t stand but knows Takeda only uses when he’s reading Suga’s transparent emotions. “I was not interested in Mr. Tourist over there.” He points to Daichi who is trying to juggle his map in one hand while putting his phone in his pocket to grab the iced coffee from the counter.
“And I’m not married to the greatest volleyball coach this side of the US/Canada border,” Takeda responds with a dreamy look in his eyes.
Suga has to stifle a laugh, trying hard to not imagine his boss and longtime family friend, Ittetsu Takeda making out with his high school PE teacher/volleyball coach, Keishin Ukai who can chain-smoke a pack of cigarettes as well as he can make a jump serve. But somehow it works (especially Suga might have accidentally set it up one day when his dad couldn’t pick him up from volleyball practice) and, therefore, he knows that Takeda is right. He was ogling Daichi’s entire being, body, laugh, and all. If Takeda noticed it, Daichi might have too.
But does it really matter? In a matter of minutes, Daichi will be out of this coffee shop. In a matter of hours, he’ll be off this island. And in a matter of days, he’ll be out of Suga’s memory forever.
“Even if I did think he was attractive,” Suga finally says, in hushed tones as to not alert Daichi and his precariously perched coffee in his hand. “It’s not like anything could ever-”
“Oh crap!”
Suga and Takeda both look over at the source of the noise and see Daichi drenched in coffee off his chest. Suga immediately clocks Daichi’s camera hanging off Daichi’s back, miraculously spared from the iced brown onslaught. The same can’t be said about his unfortunately white shirt or way-too-touristy map.
“Now’s your chance,” Takeda whispers to Suga before handing him a large “Crow’s Nest Coffee Shop: The Energy Capital of Friday Harbor” shirt. The logo and slogan were not Suga’s choice and if he were to have had any real say, they wouldn’t even have these tacky souvenir shirts because who even decides where the “Energy Capital” is or what that even means? But that’s besides the point right now.
“Chance for what?” Suga asks although he knows he won’t get an actual answer because Takeda is literally pushing him towards the flustered Daichi.
“You know what to do,” Takeda says with one final push. “Get the cheesy romantic comedy moment that you so desperately need.”
“What does that even- Hi!”
“Sorry about this,” Daichi says, looking down at the floor soaked in coffee and ice. His shoes and pants are somehow pretty dry now that Suga can get a good look at them. “I’m usually not this clumsy. I guess I’m probably the worst kind of tourist, aren’t I?”
“It’s fine,” Suga responds. He looks down at the shirt in his hand, its super tacky logo in full view, and breathes out a too audible sigh. “My boss said you can have this on the house.”
“Oh, I couldn’t possibly-”
“Please take it or I’ll get yelled at.”
“Oh, sure.” Daichi begins to take his coffee-stained shirt off in the middle of the cafe.
Suga knows he should reprimand him for doing so but can’t stop himself from taking in the toned muscles on Daichi’s body. He feels his own body begin to tense up, quietly measuring up to this tourist who could put any police officer, firefighter, or professional volleyball player to shame. And before he knows it, the shirt in his hand is gone and, instead, on Daichi. Almost like he hadn’t been shirtless just seconds before.
“Thanks again for this,” Daichi says as he pulls the Crow’s Nest shirt down a little tighter. He turns around towards the glass door and Suga can’t help but wish he wouldn’t have turned away. Or that he wouldn’t walk out that door.
“You’re wel-”
“Oh, man!” Daichi ignores Suga’s weak reply, before running out the door and then immediately dropping his head.
Against his better judgment, Suga walks outside to see what happened. Almost like he actually cares for this Daichi who he knows will be gone within minutes and be just be another name he’ll forget within days.
“That was my tour bus…” Daichi says, not turning around to look at Suga but somehow noticing his arrival.
“Oh… that’s unfortunate…” Suga musters up. He doesn’t know what to say next. The first thing that comes to his mind is “Those tour buses are just ways to get gullible tourists like you to pay way too much money for a mediocre and bumpy bus ride” but he goes with his better judgment and says nothing at all.
“Well, I know Suga knows how we can fix this!”
Suga visibly cringes when he hears that familiar, managerial voice from behind him. And then that same light grip on his shoulder that only one Takeda would ever try to do with him. Suga can practically see the mischievous glint on Takeda’s glasses, hiding the murderous intent.
“Oh, you don’t have to fix anything,” Daichi says, waving his hands in front of himself. “You’ve already given me this awesome shirt for being so clumsy” He looks down again at the comical Crow’s Nest shirt with its cartoon crow drinking a latte. “Honestly, I can probably just wait for the next bus which will be here in…” he looks down at his watch and very clearly holds back a gasp. “Two hours.”
“Well, Suga here is off for the day so I’m sure he can think of something to make this right,” Takeda replies, gripping Suga’s shoulder a bit tighter. Suga doesn’t have to turn around to see the wolf in sheep’s clothing’s smile behind him. “Don’t worry about your register for the rest of the day,” Takeda whispers into Suga’s ear. “You know what to do.”
“Takeda, I swear to God…” Suga grumbles before turning to look at Daichi again. The desperation in his eyes and the slight frown on his face are enough for Suga and his impenetrable wall to begin to crack. A feeling he isn’t sure what to make of.
“Anyway,” Takeda starts once he’s let go of Suga’s shoulders, completely ignoring Suga’s thinly veiled and incomplete threat. “I hope you have a wonderful day on the island, all things considered.” He smiles at Daichi and walks back into the cafe, leaving Suga and Daichi alone on the patio.
“You really don’t have to do anything… Suga, is it?” Daichi says before taking out his phone. “I’ll just figure out something to do here in Friday Harbor in the meantime. I am a stranger after all.”
“That’s true…” Suga says, glad he didn’t say “a hot stranger” like he almost did. He goes to turn towards the street where he parked when he feels something pull him back towards Daichi. That same something that’s been nagging him ever since he laid eyes on Daichi. That same something that’s made him almost say such embarrassing things. “I mean, I don’t really have any other plans today.”
“I’m sorry?”
“I mean, if you want, I can show you around the island. I am a local after all.” Suga says more clearly. He looks at Daichi and is taken aback at how quickly the previous pout had disappeared. And instead, is that same tourist-like smile. The same one Suga had chastised not ten minutes before.
“If you’re seriously offering, I would love to take you up on that!” Daichi exclaims before grabbing both of Suga’s hands and shaking them up and down.
Suga would have pulled back had it not been for the fact that Daichi’s hands were so warm against the uncharacteristically chill August wind and the way his own heart skipped one singular beat. And at that moment, he knew that he had just said something he couldn’t take back. This was the point of no return for Suga and his previously iron-clad “No Tourist Policy.”
And as he walks them to his car, half-listening to Daichi go on about the ferry ride over and the kid who puked on the seat next to him, Suga can’t help but wonder if he had either made the worst or best decision of his life.