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“Hey, Geto, your stalker is here,” Yuji loudly calls out and Suguru stiffens before he slowly turns around, dread already forming in his gut.
To his immense relieve he spots a mop of fluffy white hair, which means it’s not Mahito. Satoru might be a stalker as well, but at least he’s less of the worrying and more of the annoying kind.
Satoru doesn’t even get a chance to open his mouth before Suguru says “No.”
“Aw, come on,” Satoru immediately pleads, flopping down over the counter as if he’s made out of water instead of flesh and bones. “Please?”
“I am not going to make your damn concoction,” Suguru says because the thing that Satoru orders on the regular is revolting and honestly a little bit worrying.
He’s going to die of diabetes one day, and he can’t be older than twenty two. He’s too young to die.
“How else am I going to survive then?” Satoru whines out, blinking up at Suguru who tries his best not to get lost in those damn blue eyes.
“Find another coffee shop?” he suggests and busies himself with wiping down the counter, pushing Satoru off in the process.
“And make you lose your best customer? I think not,” Satoru shoots back to which Suguru only rolls his eyes.
“Worst customer, you mean,” he replies and Satoru pouts at him.
“If you don’t make my coffee, I’ll stay here until your shift ends and then I’ll accompany you home,” Satoru finally says—threatens more like—and after giving him the flattest stare Suguru can muster, he turns around and gets started on Satoru’s concoction.
He pointedly doesn’t think about the fact that he has the monstrosity memorised, which is actually quite the feat considering that Satoru uses almost all their toppings in it.
“Aw, I knew you loved me,” Satoru sighs out when he puts it down in front of him and there is something entirely too pleased on his face.
“Now get out of my face,” Suguru tells him, not having much hope that Satoru will leave immediately.
He usually likes to stick around for a while, at least until his drink is empty, and Suguru knows that he’s quite friendly with all of the staff. It’s just Suguru who he seems to annoy to no end; even Shoko had a nice thing to say about him even though she only comes in to pester their manager Utahime and Suguru doesn’t even want to think about that.
“If it isn’t my favourite barista,” a new voice jolts Suguru out of his thoughts and this time, a cold shudder runs down his back.
He curses the day Mahito found out where he works and coming face to face with him now, it’s not the first time that Suguru debates if quitting his job here wouldn’t be easier.
The only thing stopping him is the fact that Mahito will find him again sooner or later and Suguru is not a job hopper.
“Go fuck yourself,” Suguru says, not even pretending to be nice to him and he can feel Yuji’s eyes on him.
It’s a badly kept secret that he and Mahito have a history and it’s even a worse kept secret that Mahito is an unhinged creep who is probably going to try something sooner or later.
Suguru is just waiting for the other shoe to drop and it’s making him sick to his stomach.
“I’d rather you do it,” Mahito drawls out and Suguru sneers at him.
“Not a chance in hell,” he presses out, even though he knows he shouldn’t engage with him more than he has to but he can’t help himself.
“We’ll see about that,” Mahito ominously says and Suguru clenches his teeth so hard together he fears they are going to crack.
There’s a tense silence for a few moments before Yuji butts in.
“A customer, how nice. Geto, you’re needed elsewhere,” he says and nudges him out of the way. “What can I get you?” he then asks Mahito and there’s only cheer in his voice but Suguru caught a glimpse of his expression and it’s pretty jarring to see easy going Yuji glare at someone like that.
Still, Suguru is thankful for it and shuffles to the side, as far away from Mahito as he can be. He didn’t notice that it put him close to Satoru though.
“You okay?” Satoru asks, his voice uncharacteristically quiet and even he is giving Mahito a considering glance.
“Fine,” Suguru shortly gives back though he softens a bit when Satoru frowns at his response. “Promise, I’m fine. He’s just—”
He doesn’t actually know how to finish that sentence but Satoru hums.
“Unhinged and dangerous?” he finally asks and Suguru huffs out an unamused laugh.
“Probably, yeah,” he admits, eyeing Mahito.
He’s scrawny as hell, but Suguru knows that he’s sturdy and lithe. He couldn’t take Suguru in a fight, not ever, but that’s not always the most dangerous thing anyway. He knows Mahito is fast, and crazy enough to carry weapons with him. Plus, he has no regard for his own well-being and Suguru would really rather not clash with him.
He might have to, though, if Mahito keeps up his stalking tendencies because Suguru will not allow him to find out where he lives.
“You staying safe?” Satoru asks, eying Mahito up and down as if he’s seizing him up.
“Trying to,” Suguru shortly gives back and then turns away from Mahito. “I don’t really want to talk about it.”
“Fair,” Satoru agrees and then smiles at Suguru. “Now, here’s the movie I saw last night,” he then says and Suguru immediately groans.
Satoru has the extremely annoying habit to retell a movie in excruciating detail and Suguru already feels his brain leak out of his ears.
“Not a chance,” he interrupts Satoru before he can even really start, which makes him pout again and Suguru sighs, almost immediately giving in. “You have ten sentences to describe the movie,” he relents and immediately regrets his every life choice when Satoru’s eyes start to sparkle.
They really are incredibly blue, Suguru finds himself thinking right before Satoru assaults him with endless run-on sentences. Suguru is not even sure he pauses to take a breath and by the time Satoru finally falls silent again, a good fifteen minutes have passed.
“You’re insane,” is all Suguru can say to the onslaught he just had to withstand and Satoru grins at him.
“It worked though, so worth it,” Satoru declares and it’s only then that Suguru remembers Mahito.
He whips around but he only sees Yuji who gives him a thumbs up.
“He left like ten minutes ago!”
Suguru lets out a breath of relief and even manages a smile for Satoru.
“Thanks, I guess,” he awkwardly says because he has to admit that it did kind of work and that it was incredibly kind of Satoru to distract him like that.
“Thank me by giving me my next drink for free,” Satoru says, batting his eyes at him.
“Absolutely not,” Suguru immediately replies because one, he made that drink often enough to know that it costs a small fortune and two, he’s not going to enable Satoru’s sugar intake.
“You meanie,” Satoru grumbles but he keeps smiling at Suguru. “Anyway, see you next time I guess,” he then calls out, dumping his cup in the trash and waving at Suguru.
“Not too soon, please,” Suguru calls after him but he knows that Satoru will be back two days later because he always comes in on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, just like clockwork.
“He’s really nice,” Yuji suddenly says from behind him and Suguru does not jump.
“He’s an annoying, arrogant brat.” He knows that because he spent enough time chatting with him when Satoru comes in to pick up his drink.
He’s also incredibly intelligent, self-aware, passionate about the things he enjoys, kind and somewhat of a nerd. Suguru has no idea what to make of him, if he’s being honest.
“Better than that other guy,” Yuji says with a shrug and Suguru has to agree with him.
Satoru is way better than Mahito.
~*~*~
Suguru doesn’t know why he didn’t protest harder when the promotion idea for the shop came up the first time, but when his name is being called out he regrets his every life choice that brought him here.
Auctioning each of their staff off for an hour had seemed like a great idea on paper—especially with how popular they all were—until Suguru has to stand in the spotlight and he spots Mahito in the crowd.
He really should have known better.
Mahito gives him a grin that makes goose bumps break out all over his body and he wonders if he can fake being sick to get out of this.
“The starting bid is 1.500¥,” Utahime calls out to the crowd and immediately there are plates being lifted.
Suguru thinks he’d be equal parts flattered and embarrassed when the bids go up to 15.000¥ in almost no time, but the fact that Mahito is still bidding as well makes cold sweat break out on his forehead.
He’ll only have to spend an hour with him, and they will stay in the shop so there is not really something that could happen but with Mahito everything is possible, and not in a good way.
If this goes on, Suguru doesn’t have to fake being sick.
“I see 20.000¥,” Utahime says and Suguru doesn’t even have to check to know that it’s Mahito’s bid. “Going once, twice and—”
“150.000¥,” a new voice calls out and silence falls over the room.
“What the fuck,” Yuji mutters out next to Suguru and Suguru wants to agree.
That’s an incredible amount of money and he thinks he knows who the voice belongs to.
“150.000¥ going once, going twice,” Utahime gets back into the swing after a short, surprised silence, “and sold to the guy with the number 8!”
Suguru would love to confirm if it really is Satoru who just spent an obscene amount of money to spend one hour with him, but before he can Mahito is leaning in way too close.
“You’ll regret that,” he whispers before he’s bodily shoved out of the way by a smiling Satoru.
“Suguru! I do believe this hour is mine,” he says with a nasty look at Mahito and Suguru can only mutely nod. “Wonderful, I ordered food and drinks, so if you would, please,” he sing-songs and offers Suguru his arm as if he’s a damsel.
Suguru takes it, because what else is he going to do after Satoru paid for this and then he’s being led away to a table that is covered entirely with the baked goods they offer in the shop.
“Who is going to eat all of that?” Suguru asks as he slides into the booth and Satoru grins at him.
“You. Well, us really, but you haven’t eaten today, right? So most of it goes to you.”
“How do you know that?” Suguru asks and Satoru’s grin softens.
“You were too busy preparing everything to stop and eat, right?” he asks and Suguru flushes with how accurate it is. “So eat up.”
“Thank you,” Suguru mumbles and picks one of the cones. “But you—really shouldn’t have spent that much money.”
“I really should have,” Satoru says and glares at Mahito, who is still standing in the middle of the shop, glaring at Satoru in return. “No way in hell was he going to get that hour with you.”
“That’s—nice, but it’s not really a long-term solution,” Suguru mutters, before he bites into the cone. “He’ll only be worse after this,” he adds once he swallowed and Satoru turns back around to him.
“No, he won’t,” he says as if he knows something Suguru doesn’t and Suguru slowly lowers the cone.
“What did you do?” he carefully asks and the grin he receives now is sharp and dangerous.
“I have some connections,” he cryptically says and Suguru stares at him.
“What is that supposed to mean?” A horrifying thought occurs to Suguru. “Are you with the mafia?”
Satoru bursts into laughter at that and Suguru feels that is entirely unfounded. It’s a valid thing to ask after someone said such a line after all.
“You really have no idea who I am, do you?” Satoru asks him once he calmed down, still way too amused for Suguru’s liking but the flush that is now on his face suits him wonderfully Suguru thinks.
“Should I?”
He’s Satoru. There’s hardly more Suguru needs to know.
“My family name is Gojo,” he says and Suguru almost drops the cone. “I’m the heir to the Gojo Group.”
“Holy fuck,” Suguru whispers out because everyone knows the Gojo Group.
“So you really didn’t know,” Satoru says, and he sounds pleased.
Him being the heir to such a family would explain how he can spend that much money on Suguru, but it still doesn’t explain his comment about Mahito.
“What did you do to Mahito?” he asks and Satoru’s eyes flicker back to the man in question.
“Turns out he’s wanted in several other countries. You really do not keep good company, Suguru.”
“It’s not company I choose,” he gruffly gives back, because he moved here to get away from him. “So he’s going to be arrested?”
“Hopefully today,” Satoru agrees and then turns a blinding smile at Suguru. “And until then, I’m not letting you out of my sight.”
“Satoru, you really shouldn’t have spent that much money on me,” Suguru says again though he can’t deny that he’s flattered.
“How else was I going to stick it to him and get a date with you?” Satoru easily asks and Suguru chokes on his cone.
Satoru wordlessly pushes Suguru’s coffee closer to him, and Suguru takes a few desperate sips of it.
“What is that supposed to mean?” he finally wheezes out and Satoru seems almost affronted.
“Well, my flirting didn’t seem to work that well, so I had to resort to this,” he says with a shrug and Suguru is glad that this time he didn’t have anything in his mouth.
“Flirting?”
“Come on, Suguru, you think I spent half an hour talking to the others? I only ever come in during your shifts anyway.”
Suguru wants to say that he didn’t know that, but he stops himself. He did know the days Satoru comes in, he just refused to make that connection in fear of what he’d read into that.
“You’re kind of famous,” is what he says to that and Satoru taps his finger on the table.
“I kind of don’t care,” he replies, clearly impatient and when Suguru doesn’t say something to that—still too busy processing everything he learned in the last five minutes—Satoru leans back with a sigh.
“Look, I’m sorry. If it makes you feel better, just think about this as me helping the shop out, alright? You’ll spend this hour eating and when this is over, I won’t come by again. I’m sorry I made you uncomfortable.”
“No!” Suguru blurts out and reaches out to take Satoru’s hand in his, fearing he’ll get up and leave right this second. “Just give me a moment to wrap my head around this,” he pleads and Satoru slumps in his seat.
“Fine,” he mutters but he doesn’t hesitate to close his fingers around Suguru’s.
It’s a lot to take in, Suguru can’t deny that, but the most important part right now is that he doesn’t let Satoru leave. Well, actually, the most important part is that he gives Satoru an answer.
“You could have just asked, you know,” Suguru softly says, moving his hand to thread their fingers together.
“You don’t ask people who work in the service industry out for a date while they are on their job,” Satoru gives back. “That’s just rude and puts you in a bad spot.”
It’s incredibly considerate of him and Suguru can feel himself soften.
“So you tried to flirt.”
“Hey, my flirting is great!”
“Except for the part where I didn’t even pick up on it,” Suguru shoots back and Satoru narrows his eyes at him.
“Well, maybe that’s a problem with you,” he considers and Suguru laughs.
“I’m technically not on the clock now. You gonna ask, or what?” he then challenges Satoru, who immediately straightens up in his seat.
“Suguru, I really like you. Would you go on a date with me?”
“You mean other than this?” Suguru can’t help but to tease and he fights the urge to kiss the stupid pout off Satoru’s face.
“You’re so mean to me,” Satoru whines and Suguru gently squeezes his hand.
“Did you miss the part where this is already a date?” he asks him and watches how Satoru’s face lights up.
“You could have just said yes,” he still complaints and Suguru laughs.
“Where’s the fun in that?” he shoots back and he can’t deny that there is something incredibly comforting about this banter.
“I’m going to take you out on at least two more dates, for the emotional stress you caused me,” Satoru mutters under his breath and Suguru lifts their still clasped hands to his lips, so he can press a kiss to Satoru’s knuckles.
“Deal,” he breathes out and enjoys the dumbfounded look on Satoru’s face, which quickly gets replaced by a vibrant blush.
“You can’t just do that!”
“Watch me,” Suguru shrugs and gets back to his cone, pretending to be entirely unfazed, even though his heart is beating away incredibly fast in his chest.
“Oh, I am,” he hears Satoru say and he refuses to acknowledge his own blush at that, though going by the way Satoru snickers, he definitely notices it.
They spend their time bantering like that, keeping their fingers threaded together and neither of them notices when the hour passes, both secure in the knowledge that they don’t have to keep track of that.
There will be many more hours ahead of them, after all.