Chapter Text
It's a chilly morning for Satoru, although he's not really running cold since he's the one doing all the running out in the middle of the street. For reasons unknown to him –he stayed up all night binge watching his favorite TV show for the hundredth time–, he's late for his early class today, being a total common occurrence for his students to see him late for the classes he's supposed to be teaching and looking quite disheveled when he enters the classroom. Nevertheless, he prioritizes his body's demands for some sugar intake at this hour of the day, going straight to that one coffee shop that had recently opened and that he'd heard so many good things from Shoko, one of his co-workers and in fact, his closest friend and most likely the only person willing to put up with him.
So, just as he thinks his luck couldn't get any better, if he's being sarcastic about it, he unceremoniously arrives at the cafe, almost tripping over his own feet in the process, because apparently he forgot his shoe laces were meant to be tied, immediately drawing the attention of the few customers inside and the staff behind the bar towards himself. He ignores most of the looks they give him, not really paying them any mind since he really could not care any less about these strangers staring at him right now, but one of those stares belongs to the cashier himself, whose eyes seem so attentive on everything he does from the moment he walks in, on every step Satoru takes until he's in front of the register, ready to make his order. But such a simple action is suddenly very hard to perform, because Satoru apparently also forgot how to use words and put sentences together as soon as he laid eyes on the man in front of him. Suguru, according to his name tag. Who kept looking at him with the same attention and intensity Satoru himself was staring with since he noticed his presence as soon as he walked in. He felt almost immediately captivated by immeasurably deep eyes, somehow having a purplish tint to the otherwise black void of his irises, which he could notice from this distance, because the man is nothing short of stunning, to say the least.
And it seems he's been standing there for an eternity, because the intensity of the looks they give each other goes on to become rather awkward for a few seconds, with Suguru waiting for him to order as there are other customers here and much to Satoru's dismay, the coffee shop doesn't serve him and only him.
"Good morning, my name's Suguru, what can I get for you today?" Is all the man says, with a tender smile nonetheless, very obviously doing his job, or attempting to, but Satoru over here is still feeling a bit hazy, unable to properly speak at all and not fully understanding the question for he was not paying attention in the first place.
"I, uh... A white chocolate mocha coffee." Comes his answer, sounding doubtful and jittery, even, making the cashier laugh a bit at his apparent clumsiness, the sugary choice for his morning drink and the fact that he keeps staring at Suguru and not trying to hide it at all as he fishes some cash out of his pockets, paying without even asking how much it is because he still doesn't even remember how to act.
"Alright, I'll need to get your name over here so I can let you know once it's ready." He says so gently and still with that soft smile on his face and it doesn't feel fake in the slightest, instead it makes Satoru feel at home, sharing a comfortable moment with a long lost friend he hasn't seen in a while for reasons he can't quite explain.
"S'toru." And it comes out a bit muffled, kind of quiet, like at this point he's not even sure that's actually his name. "Satoru, I'm sorry."
Suguru just laughs softly as he writes down his order and gives him his receipt, without a hint of malice behind his laughter but only ever seeming to enjoy seeing Satoru this flustered without really knowing why, but he himself is also getting a feeling that he's heard his name before, a feeling of familiarity that comes from seeing the faint blush on Satoru's face, as if he's seen it a million times in his life, and no matter how confused the feeling makes him for a brief instant, he likes it regardless.
"Satoru? Ah, that's a nice name."
And at that, the man in question sort of freezes in place. The softness with which Suguru speaks those words is bringing back memories that he isn't sure are real, feelings of yearning and longing, as if hearing such softness is something he's been missing for a long time and he's been waiting to do so his whole life, waiting for this stranger to utter his name so delicately and carefully, to look at him like he's responsible for hanging the stars in the sky and painting the heavens the same bright blue as his own eyes. Before he notices his reaction, a small tear is gliding down his warm, reddened cheek, and he finds himself in total surprise because he's not sure how or when he started crying in front of this dream of a man, quite literally; he only stared at him since he got in the shop because he felt a sort of dejà vu after merely seeing his face, feeling he's seen him in his dreams before.
"Satoru?" He asks, so quietly and with that slight confusion from before now a bit clearer in his voice, not knowing what to do about the sight of his customer crying all of a sudden, and that seems to snap Satoru out of his short-lived trance and ground him to this moment once again.
"Sorry! Sorry about this, I don't know what's gotten into me this morning." He bows his head a few times and says rather quickly, wiping his tears as smoothly as possible while reciprocating the chuckles earned from Suguru at the same time. Who is still quite hazed and sort of worried, but chooses to not ask any questions since they don't know each other and he must remain professional at all times, hearing his manager scold him in his head before it even happens if he doesn't keep his act together. "Actually... have we met before?"
The question comes out of his mouth before he can think about his own words, and that seems to make Suguru even more curious now, because he's torn between engaging in conversation with Satoru, ignoring the growing line of customers behind them or risking the reprimand from his boss, Utahime, if he were to continue talking so casually with the man in front of him, who, he must say, looks just like a dream, with hair as white as snow and the deepest blue eyes he's seen in his life, along with that soft blush on his cheeks at every word Suguru says to him, which he finds almost amusing, but endearing and still interesting, wishing he could spend more time with Satoru, as if he's spent a lifetime next to him and at the same time, feeling like it wasn't enough anyway.
"I... don't think so, I think I'd remember someone with a pretty name and interesting eyes like yours." He replies as politely as he's been since the beginning of their interaction, noticing how that goes straight to the subtle blush on Satoru's cheeks, now a lot less subtle and more intense.
"I see, I could say the same for you... Suguru," he says, without an ounce of shame in pretending he hadn't already noticed the man's name when he also pretends to read it on his name tag. "You have a very familiar face, don't think I could forget ever seeing someone like you if I would have had the opportunity before."
And those words seem to finally get to Suguru, who isn't as put together as he usually is when he's the one to ever so subtly start blushing now, smile never fading from his lips, while Satoru's coffee is being prepared behind them and he actually steps to the side now, getting anxious to realize he's held the line quite a lot now. And he's satisfied however, having made this total stranger flustered even a little bit, but still feeling like the last time he got to do so, was only for them to part ways in a manner that only hurt them profoundly.
He doesn't have the chance to get any more lost than this in his own train of thoughts, because he's interrupted by that sweet, saccharine voice calling his name with evident and unconscious adoration, and the pitch of it leaves him wondering where he's heard it before. If he ever actually heard his name being said in such a way before, at all.
"Here you go, Satoru, enjoy your sugar overdose and have a good day." Suguru teases as he meant to do a few moments earlier, since Satoru's drink of choice for today was so unbearably tooth rotting sweet and quite inappropriate so early in the day, but he couldn't really do such a thing, as right then and there, he saw his customer tear up a bit at the slight mention of his own name, which made him curious and it also brought a pressuring feeling to his own chest, as if seeing this stranger cry was something he couldn't stand, only ever wanting to see him stumble upon his words and laugh softly as he had just done, unexplainably so, because he knew nothing about the white haired man.
"Thank you very much, Suguru, I'll be sure to come back here for your totally good customer service." He gives the cashier back a smile, before bowing slightly as he starts to make his way out and to the high school where he works, having forgotten entirely how late he was, deciding to start running once again, trying to catch the train while having half the mind to not spill his coffee all over his white button up shirt.
Soon enough, he makes his infamous entrance to the classroom, only to be met by the murderous gaze of his students, very obviously sick and tired of waiting for Satoru to show up, and gracing him with their loud complaints as he simply laughs it off and starts his class almost immediately, doing his best to pretend he can't hear them over his own voice as he goes on to explain complex concepts and theories, sure they weren't paying attention but still decidedly hoping they'd learn a thing or two from him.
Even so, he couldn't really focus on his own words and explanations, as his mind still wandered back to his brief but also long interaction with Suguru, the cashier, the man who owned those very unmistakable eyes he was sure he'd seen in his dreams so many times before, since he can recall. To the voice of said man, the care and softness beneath it as they spoke and the warmth of his smile, full of fondness for an absolute stranger, even though, he's sure they've met several thousand times before, in his dreams, in other lives, other universes, he thought. Feeling his own physics teacher side get the best of him, reminding him of all those theories and research studies about alternate universes he's been trying to figure out for years, thinking perhaps, himself from another universe has already had the pleasure of meeting Suguru and him crying this morning was nothing more than the whiplash caused by the sudden encounter of themselves in this one. And he hopes that they get to meet again, in the coffee shop, perhaps seeing each other in the streets, anywhere, really, anywhere but his dreams.
He wishes it hasn't all been just a figment of his imagination.