Chapter Text
the second hot sun rays hit the tip of his nose, mysta cursed his mum. he might love her but making him spend the summer in malibu, at his alcoholic aunt’s place to, how she called it, socialize, was one of the worst things she had managed him to do.
he had spend the first two days in bed, trying to fix the jet lag. he was grateful for the ac system his aunt had invested in just last summer, cold air keeping his explosive nerves at bay.
now, it was already wednesday and he still didn’t know what his aunt was doing for a living, she had dragged him outside. the afternoon sun knew no mercy, trying to burn everything in the heat of the moment. mysta only tagged along for grocery shopping because he got promised a bubble tea — and again, curse his mum for sharing his guilty pleasure drink with her sister in law.
“come on, honey! we have to hurry or the ice cream will melt!” mysta rolled his sunset eyes, still irritated and left traumatized by the american store experience. he fastened his pace nevertheless, pushing the card on the crusty asphalt towards the silver chevrolet.
his aunt was way too proud of the esky cooler box one of her australian friends gifted her last birthday, but he wasn’t one to complain when they put the already melting ice cream inside.
he wasn’t even sure if he’d ever gather the courage to word out the things bugging his mind towards his bubbly aunt. they weren’t close, really, and mysta wasn’t sure if they’ll ever be. it’s not like he didn’t like the thought of it, although he also wasn’t quite fond of it either; most people or social interactions made him feel uncomfortable, the woman next to him in the driver’s seat with her loud voice and far too affectionate way of speaking drained his social battery like winters’ coldness.
“do you want som’n as well?”, he asked before opening the door again. mysta already prepared himself to get hit by hot, sticky and salty air on this face once more — he really craved a cold shower at this point and he’d just left the house two hours ago. he never thought he’d miss the uk’s weather.
“oh, just whatever you’re getting is fine for me!” the brunette sighed, “are you sure?” his aunt gave him a nod before handing him her wallet. mysta averted his eyes, softly pushing it back towards her.
“mum gave me enough money, nina.”
”noooo! but i wanna pamper you all summer long! i can’t just let my adorable little nephew pay for everything himself, hm?”, nina opened the wallet, took out 20 dollars and unceremoniously shoved them into mysta’s front pocket of his black shorts after snatching his wallet.
“there, there”, a content smile spread across her lips before she ruffled his hair, “now, hurry, i want some boba.” mysta wished for summer to end right there, right then — there was no way he would be able to handle nina for one whole summer without having a complete meltdown in front of her (also caused by her). mysta had never asked to bond with the sister of his bastard dad.
the shop wasn’t too crowded when the brunette entered. there was only one person working behind the counter, obsidian-purple hair in a high ponytail.
as mysta stepped up to the counter, they turned around, a friendly smile on cherry lips: “welcome, gimme a sec, yeah?” the brunette only hummed, voice stuck in his throat since the ravenette had turned around. it’s been a while since he saw someone this angelic, brain too overwhelmed by the sheer amount of shyness that suddenly tried to drown him.
he tried telling himself that it was fine, completely fine — until it wasn’t because let’s be honest, mysta was good at lying, especially to himself. he lied to himself so he could stay in his tiny little bubble of (made up) comfort, bathing in the colors he made up for himself and himself only, since the world outside his own mind seemed so loud and glaring.
“what can i get for you?”, the ravenette smiled at him again and mysta could tell it was part of his job and yet he felt himself drowning in it.
“two mango green teas with mango boba.” mysta watched him tapping around on the display, nodding in an understanding way. the brunette gave him the 20 dollar bill, waiting for his change.
“want a stampcard?”, he then asked, showing him a colorful designed card, white circles on it for the stamps. mysta blinked at it, mind trying to process his words: “uh, sure.” he would be visiting the store more than often anyways, it would be convenient to have one.
“your accent”, the ravenette began as he put ink on the stamp, “you’re not from here, hm?” mysta’s tongue grew heavy again, he knew people would make fun of him for it but an employee in a bubble tea shop out of all things? he pitied himself even more.
“how do you like malibu so far?” mysta took the stamp card from the counter, two black swatches on it, and shoved the change back into the pockets of his shorts.
what did the angel just ask him?
“it’s, uh, very sunny.” mysta slapped himself in his thoughts, not believing what he just said.
the ravenette laughed at his statement and turned around, grabbing two containers: “yeah, it’s pretty hot here.”
mysta wanted to hear that laugh again — it sounded like everything he never had, like something he had been looking for all his life and never found. it soothed his mind; made his face burn up with heat; made him forget why he was there in the first place (in a country far, far away from his home, suffocating under the salty heat and white sweet words of the aunt he never asked for, getting reminded of the dad he never had everyday he looked at her).
“way too hot, man, can’t believe i miss london’s trash weather”, he laughed, breathy and less tense, watching the other prep the drinks. he still felt awkward, small talk never one of mysta’s strong points as he never knew what exactly to say.
“did you move here or are you on vacation?” he didn’t know why the pretty boy was so prone to have a conversation with him but he didn’t complain about it, just being grateful someone this angelic talked to him out of free will. having tons of experience in the nasty niche of customer service, mysta very much knew that chatting with clients wasn’t on the daily plan; it was always just “take their orders, be polite, and provide assistance if needed”, nothing more, nothing less.
“kind of a vacation”, the brunette pondered, not wanting to overshare his situation, “prolly staying till the end of summer.” the pretty boy let out a sound of amazement, nodding softly, making his ponytail sway from left to right with a slow rhythm — mysta couldn’t stop staring at his exposed nape, milky and so inviting.
“so i can expect to see you here more often?” the ravenette turned around, a smile on his lips, something mysta couldn’t read very well but knew this time it was genuine. his teal eyes traveled from his lips down to slender hands, fingertips looked like he dipped them into purple paint.
“i have to fill the stamp card somehow, don’t i”, he smiled back softly.
mysta came back three days later. nina was having some sort of meltdown because of her work (he was still trying to figure out what her job was) and he was not having it, retreating to get himself some comfort — alias, the sweet flavor of mango cooling his throat after a long day of doing nothing inside his little room.
the sun was already setting but he still decided to wear his glasses, as they complemented his orange button up shirt. to be honest, he was unsure if the shop was still open after seven, yet he decided to walk those fifteen minutes. and again, he lied to himself, because why not, he was mysta; mysta, who was too scared to even admit that the ravenette boy with the unique hair had caught his interest; worried that if he dipped his toes into the sea he would get swallowed whole in the blink of an eye.
he was being cautious and slow because diving too deep would suffocate him.
“oh, hi.” he got greeted the second he set foot into the little store, this time he could hear the soft tunes of music in his ears, accompanied by a voice, dripping with honey, so sweet and enchanting.
“hey”, mysta mumbled shily (”oh my god, get yourself together!”), taking the glasses off to let them rest on top of his head. he could feel warmth creeping up his face as he noticed the pretty boy with his obsidian-purple hair loose, draped over his shoulders — mysta thought he looked even prettier like that.
“mango green tea with mango boba?” mysta was surprised he remembered his order and proceeded to nod. they didn’t end up talking a lot this time. mysta found himself enjoying the silence as much as he enjoyed chatting with him, something he rarely had in his life (he just remembered) due to his lack of friendships and lacking understanding of social interactions overall — not that he pitied himself for it.
“there you go… uhm”, mysta watched him angle his head to the side a bit, bangs framing his face like a piece of art. the brunette was so focused on the ravenette’s lips, he completely missed the hint he was getting thrown.
“could i”, the angel blinked, red dust spreading across his cheeks like blooming roses, “get your name?” mysta’s chin almost fell to the floor while his heart stopped beating for a few seconds.
“me?”, he asked, full of surprise and confusion. why would an angel want his name? to write him into a death note so his pathetic life would finally end?
how weird.
“y- yeah… if you don’t mind, of course! sorry if i’m being weird…” mysta watched with wide eyes as the other nervously tucked a lone strand of obsidian hair behind his ear — oh my god is that a piercing —, face red and nibbling on the skin of his lips.
after some staring mysta finally got his nerves together, thoughts no longer sprinting around inside his head (but still running pretty fast): “s- sure! ’m mysta, very nice to meet you.” god, he thought, i’m so fucking bad at this shit.
“i’m shu!”, the ravenette immediately beamed up at him with the biggest and brightest smile mysta has ever seen in his entire life, making his knees weak.
maybe, he said to himself, just maybe, it was okay to dip my toes further into the sea.