Chapter Text
The cafe was buzzing with chatter as the customers inside chatted the afternoon away, giving off a calm and peaceful atmosphere.
One man in particular though, was struggling back in the kitchen. "Hotaru, how many times do I have to tell you? No one will watch over you if you leave the cafe, plus my shift ends in an hour, you can afford to wait that long can't you?" a man with long tri-colored hair said. "But daaaaaad! Akane and Hitomi are waiting for me at the park!" a boy with the same tri-colored hair whined.
"No means no Hotaru. Now please behave and go sit over there" the man gestured toward a small round table with a coloring book and a pack of colored pencils on top of it. The boy huffed and stomped off to the table, grumbling under his breath about how unfair his dad was and how he should just run away.
The boy stopped in his tracks, his eyes going wide. 'That's it! I just need to sneak out when dad's not looking' he thought. He turned back to check, his dad had his back turned to him while preparing some food for the customers. 'Now's my chance, if I wanna get out of here, I gotta act now!'
The boy tiptoed towards the exit of the kitchen, trying his best to keep quiet. He turned back once more and when he confirmed his dad wasn't looking, he ran out quietly and started making his way to where his friends were waiting for him.
The boy skidded to stop, hunching over with his hands on his knees as he panted, trying to catch his breath. After a couple seconds, he rose from his position and looked around the park scanning for his friends.
He walked around searching for 30 mins before frowning and coming to a stop, realizing his friends were not here. He surveyed his surroundings and realized he was in a different park and didn't know how to get back to the cafe. Thoughts started running through his head as he thought hard about how to get back to his dad, meanwhile he didn't notice how he was starting to tear up, nor how a tall buff man was staring at him from a few feet away.
Coming to a conclusion that he couldn't get back to the cafe, he burst into tears and dropped to the ground. The tall buff man watching got startled and made his way towards the weeping boy. He knelt down to his level and spoke in a soft and gentle manner, "Hey buddy, what's with the tears? Are you alright?"
Hotaru blinked and looked up through his tears, seeing a blonde man with captivating purple eyes. He hiccuped and wipes his face roughly, "I-I don't know h-how to get back t-to my dad's c-cafe...." he whimpered. The blonde man let out a soft chuckle and ruffled his hair, "Don't worry about it squirt, I'll get you back to your dad. Mind telling me the name of the cafe?" "N-Ninisani cafe" He stuttered out.
The man in the suit nodded in recognition and let out a quiet "Ahhh". He got up and dusted himself off, offering a hand to Hotaru, who has calmed down from his wailing and has reduced to sniffling. "C'mon then, I know where that is, I'll take you to your dad." Hotaru nodded and took his hand, staying close to the man's side and seemingly burying his face into it. The man chuckled and started leading them towards the cafe.
They arrived at the front of the cafe after a few minutes, spotting a young man in an apron, talking to a policeman through his tears. Hotaru's eyes lit up in recognition and shouted "DAD!" as he ran towards his dad and barreled into his stomach.
Shu's eyes widened and looked down at his son, trying to process what was happening. After getting over his initial shock, he let out a relieved sob and crouched to hug his son better. After a couple seconds, he broke away from the embrace and glared at his son, "Where have you been?! You had me worried sick you know! The police were about to start a whole investigation and everything!" he yelled. Hotaru flinched and whimpered, turning his head to the side in shame. "I-I wanted to meet up w-with Akane and Hitomi s-so I ran away to the park t-that we always go to but when I got there I-I couldn't find them." He turned to face his dad, eyes wide and glassy, "A-and then I ended up in another p-park I didn't know so that kind mister h-helped me come back here" he said as he pointed towards the blonde man standing a few feet away from them, his expression seeming fond.
Shu jolted and stood up right away, his hands on Hotaru's shoulders as he pushed him towards the blonde man. He bowed and pushed his son's head down as well while saying "Thank you so much for finding and bringing back Hotaru. I don't know what I would've done if I had lost him." He lifts his head up and makes eye contact with the man, smiling softly.
The blonde man's eyes widened slightly as he flushed and turned his head to the side, embarrassed. He chuckled bashfully as he scratched the back of his head, "I-it's nothing really! I just noticed the squirt was alone and when he started crying I couldn't just leave him there" he explained. Shu smiled and grabbed his hands, placing his on top of them, "Please, let me treat you to something in our cafe, as a thanks for bringing him back."
"I-I'm sorry but I'll have to decline since I still have some work to attend to." He admitted shyly, noticing how Shu's smile faltered, he quickly reassured him, "I can however, come back again once I've finished all my work." Shu lit up as his smile brightened again, his eyes crinkling and shining, "That would be perfect! Until then, I'll be waiting for you here." The blonde man nodded and blushed, captivated by his smile. He gently removed his hands from Shu and started to turn away before Shu stopped him. "W-wait! May I please get your name?" He turned around once again and beamed, "Luca. Luca Kaneshiro!" Shu smiled, "Shu Yamino. Thank you again and please come by soon!" Luca nodded and turned to leave once again, walking towards a parked limo, getting inside and closing the door. Shu stared as the car drove away before turning back to his son who had a smirk on his face.
"Why are you looking at me like that Hota?"
Hotaru giggled and said in a teasing voice "You have a cruuush~." Shu flushed and hissed out "I do NOT have a crush! And most certainly not on a man who I just met!" He huffed and grabbed Hotaru's ear, dragging him back inside the cafe, "You're still in big trouble young man! Don't think you're getting out of this one!" "OW OW OW DAD! LET GO, IM SORRYYYY!!"