Chapter Text
Byakuya’s thumb ached from clicking the large red button on his cellphone after the tenth, ridiculous call about the event that his father had planned for him.
It wasn’t even his responsibility, and if it was, Byakuya would do everything in his power to push it to the very bottom of the list of his priorities. This event wasn’t even for something progressive, at least not for Byakuya. His father had organized this event for further branching out and networking of the company, but he also planned this to allow Byakuya to have an opportunity to meet his next few matches to create the next heir. So, it was a matchmaking event hidden by all the financial talk.
Byakuya had raised strong hesitance to this, especially because he was always disgusted by this Togami tradition. He hated the idea of having one woman as a partner, let alone ten others to just push out babies like a factory, but his father was a harsh and cruel man as he had grown to know him and he wouldn’t take no for an answer.
“I would like to share my opinion about this occurring way too early,” Byakuya had started his defense once his father had announced this event. His hands were sweaty, they always got sweaty when he had to raise an opinion against his father. It had been this way ever since he was a young boy. “There’s so many other duties that I have to do before I take full control, can this not wait until later in my–”
“This is a Togami tradition,” his father cut in with a loud bang of his glass cup on his glass desk. Byakuya tried his best not to flinch at the loud noise. “A tradition that has been passed on many years that you should be very much aware of. Or have I made the wrong decision by choosing you as the next heir?”
“Absolutely not, father,” Byakuya shook his head quickly. “I’m well aware of it.”
“Then this is happening now, understood?” His father’s brown eyes narrowed. “There will be no further comments about this.”
“Yes, father,” Byakuya had said firmly, his eyes looking down to the floor once his father had turned his back to him. If he had caught him looking down, he would be reprimanded. “I understand.”
“Then return to your duties as usual,” his father huffed and turned back around. Byakuya’s eyes shot up to make sure he didn’t catch him looking down. “Do not bother me about this again.”
Byakuya nodded, then bowed and walked out the huge door of his father’s office. He didn’t dare say anything else.
The event was to happen in three weeks. This was what made it even more annoying, especially because everyone at the corporation working closely with his father was pushing the preparations onto Byakuya like maniacs. Aloysius had urged him to not fight his father on this matter again, Byakuya wouldn’t especially not after the talk they both had but he swore to himself that he would postpone this event as much as possible. The only way to do this was to fill his schedule up with as much work as possible.
So Byakuya scheduled financial events, networking events, and even construction projects to expand the Togami corporation. Not to say even the paperwork was a lot, but Byakuya would do it all if he could postpone the event to even later on. With all this work, Byakuya was pretty much exhausted every day. The calls, the paperwork, the meetings, the presentations, and the impending doom that he felt about this event and about the women he was going to be matched with had him waking up with a heavy stomach and cluster headache. Plus, the exhaustion of having a bad night’s sleep was catching up quickly. He had run out of coffee yesterday due to this and couldn’t get the kitchen staff to order another batch of premium beans as quickly as he had hoped.
Not to say that not even a walk down a few blocks from the company building was uninterrupted because Byakuya had left today to grab some fresh air as he was practically suffocating in there due to the work and the mentions of the event, he still had to answer several calls about it and all the work he had left back in the building. He couldn’t even walk down the street.
As he turned a corner and pressed the decline symbol yet again, Byakuya flinched as he felt a water droplet fall on his eyelashes. He looked up and saw grey clouds start to form above him. Fantastic, Byakuya grumbled in his head. He hadn’t even checked the weather forecast before leaving. How tired was he?
Byakuya scanned his surroundings quickly when he started to feel more drops on his face, then caught sight of a cafe. It looked small… commoner-like, but it was all he could see as other restaurants and shops were closed. He could go in, grab whatever trash coffee they had inside for an energy boost, and then head back to the company building to deal with all the work again. With an exhausted sigh, Byakuya decided to just do it. As much as he would have preferred to have a much more prestigious cup of coffee on his own secure and quiet dining table, he would have to settle for less.
The stormy sky pushed Byakuya to enter the cafe quickly, so with his hand blocking the rain from hitting his face too much, he ran to the small cafe. The smell of coffee started to appear in the air and his body seemed to go faster in desperation to have that caffeine boost he had missed today. His hand gripped the handle of the door and pushed to enter the site, fully opening the door, but then stopped as he felt the door swing back.
Byakuya stopped the sudden closing of the door with his hand which caused a slamming sound. He leaned back a bit in shock, then noticed a young man who was by the door handle on the opposite side, pushing the door with a confused expression until he stopped and looked up towards Byakuya.
“Oh, I’m sorry sir,” The young brunette flashed him an awkward but polite smile. Byakuya noticed the dimples on his face forming, but then soon after noticed the guy didn’t pull the door open to let Byakuya in. “It’s closing time, I need to–”
Byakuya didn’t have time for this. He needed a caffeine boost now or he would pass out on the street out of exhaustion. His temporary penthouse was about half an hour away from the company building and he didn’t have the time to go back to grab a quick shot of strong coffee. Byakuya placed a hand and pushed the door, the young man blinked in surprise as he stumbled once Byakuya pushed it properly. “I’m coming in and I’ll leave once I get what I need.”
“It’s closing time,” the smaller man repeated, his awkward smile now turning a little forced. Byakuya felt the door push him out slowly as the barista attempted to push him out into the rain. “We are closing–”
Byakuya pushed the door forcefully, opening it enough for him to lean in slightly. His lips curled downwards, “Do you know who I am?”
The barista stopped to scan his features. Byakuya’s lips twitched to curl upwards into his signature smirk as he watched the young man’s smile fade as he thought about it. He realized he was talking to a Togami, he realized how big of a mistake he was making by not letting him in, he realized how pathetic and small–
“I don’t think I’ve seen you before, sir,” The dimpled smile returned, still awkward but now somewhat amused as the smaller man smiled with his eyes a little more this time. “Sorry.”
“Y-You…” Byakuya stuttered, then shut his mouth.
How? How?! How has this nobody never heard of him before? Never in his short, miserable life? The audacity! Byakuya didn’t know what to do in this situation, most people would surrender by just placing their gaze upon him yet this little, mediocre commoner wouldn’t even let him in. And worse yet he made him stutter…Byakuya couldn’t believe this nonsense.
“Let me enter,” Byakuya demanded, his expression scrunching with more annoyance by the minute. “I need a coffee.”
“Sir—“ The man started, but then stopped as Byakuya kept his harsh glare on him.
Surprisingly, he didn’t submit to it. He didn’t apologize excessively, nor did he open the door immediately. This man was making Byakuya’s brain work even harder with the odd reactions he had to him. The only reaction Byakuya got was the dimpled smile disappearing on his face and the smaller man let out a small sigh. Byakuya felt the door’s force on him soften and soon the door opened fully. Byakuya stepped in, silently relieved to be out of the rain but ready to snap at the man if he gave him any more attitude. The younger man closed his eyes, ran a hand through his mousy-brown hair, and with a sigh, walked over to the counter. Byakuya followed him and took in his surroundings as he walked to the counter.
It was a small cafe. Nothing astonishing as he expected. The chairs and tables were made of matching birch wood, and the small booths had a light sage green to them. The ceiling was adorned with warm bulbs, resembling cheap Christmas lights. If Byakuya could describe this place in commoner words, it would be cozy. It was small but comfortable. But Byakuya couldn’t care less about it. He turned his attention back to the barista who now closed the small door to enter the counter and turned to him.
“Okay, look man,” Byakuya raised a brow as the young man let out a loud sigh and then looked at him with a bored expression. Bored? In front of a Togami himself? “I’m getting off in five, and I need to close this whole place before I go home. What do you want?”
“A double espresso,” Byakuya grumbled back, his eyes narrowing. This barista thought too highly of himself, Byakuya ought to give him a lesson. How dare he even act this way towards him? If Byakuya wanted to, he could send him into financial hell with a snap of his finger. Did this young man not know that? With a scowl, Byakuya’s eyes darted downwards to check the name on the young man’s apron. Makoto was all that was written on it. A commoner name, a pathetic one. How easily it would roll off Byakuya’s tongue if he were to say it aloud.
What? Byakuya blinked as his brain short-circuited after he had said that. Byakuya’s eyes came back up to the barista’s face. “Makoto”, now by the cashier, had his eyes glued on his expression. Olive-green eyes narrowed and determined. There was no fear in them. He just looked annoyed at best.
“That comes with a free cookie or muffin,” The brunette added as he placed the order on the machine by the counter. “Which one would you like?”
“Neither. I do not want any of that garbage,” Byakuya snapped curtly.
“I have to clear the display,” Makoto noted tiredly.
“And I don’t want anything.” Byakuya raised a brow.
“Who doesn’t want a free cookie or muffin?” The small brunette pushed with exhaustion, his lips turning downwards in a small frown. “There’s only two. Please pick.”
Byakuya looked at the display with the desserts with a frustrated look. He would’ve pushed that he didn’t want anything, but Byakuya’s formerly stuffed nose from the cold outside was now lightening, and he caught a whiff of the sweet treats sitting in the display. Even if they had their time outside, the treats smelled delicious and Byakuya hadn’t eaten all day. If a single cup of coffee was considered a breakfast, then that was all he had. With all the amount of work he had, Byakuya’s last worry was eating properly.
The smell of the chocolate chip reminded him of when his chef would bake him cookies secretly without his father or Aloysius knowing. It was odd how similar the smell was, it almost seemed as if the same chef had been here herself and baked it.
With a loud sigh and a roll of his eyes, Byakuya tapped the glass display. His finger pointed at the chocolate chip cookie on the display above the solo blueberry muffin. Makoto looked at where he pointed, then let out a quiet sigh and picked out the chocolate chip cookie. The smell got stronger as Byakuya watched the barista place the cookie inside the white paper bag and place it on the counter.
Byakuya watched as Makoto quickly made the espresso shot swiftly. It was an easy drink to make, as Byakuya expected, it took the barista at least five minutes. Every minute that passed caused Byakuya’s body to burn with annoyance. He hated to admit that he had been humiliated by this lowlife, especially with the commotion by the door.
“Your name?” Makoto asked, his tone still tired.
“Togami,” Byakuya seethed as he grumbled that out. His eye hadn’t stopped twitching.
“Makoto” let out a small hmph, pulled out a sharpie from his pocket, and started writing on the cup. There was still no reaction to his last name, no reaction or action to stop speaking to Byakuya with such disrespect. Byakuya dreaded how horrible his name would be written with such awful handwriting.
“Anything else?” The barista placed the cup on the counter loudly when he was done. He raised a brow as he leaned on the counter. “Mr. Togami?”
Byakuya had never heard his family name, which usually carried such prestige and power, be muttered in such an indelicate way. The audacity this young man had, working at such a low-life cafe to say his name in that way was outrageous. Byakuya’s eye twitched, confused as to whether to show his annoyance in a good snap back towards the brunette young man or to sue him for his money right here and then. It angered him.
But the more Byakuya looked at the young man…the more those olive-green eyes stared into his icy-blue ones with no hindrance or fear, Byakuya’s scowl softened. Usually, people wouldn’t even dare mutter his name in politeness, nor give him such attitude at all. Usually, people would be cowering when confronted with him, scared as to what the prestigious Togami heir could do to them. This man, however, did not seem to care. Did he know who he was? Had he no fear of him? How come?
With a loud and annoyed huff, Byakuya slammed a thousand yen note on the table and snatched the small cup from the counter. This commoner could keep the rest of the money for all he cared. He turned to face the other way, ready to bolt out of the cafe as embarrassment and panic, emotions that he hadn’t felt in ages, started to seep in and flood his mind. He could’ve had his way with this pathetic plebeian, why the hell was he walking away?
“Your free cookie,” Makoto reminded him and tapped the white paper bag containing the treat.
Byakuya almost lost it. He was in complete shambles for sure. The work was cooking his brain. With a ‘tsk’, Byakuya swiveled back around and snatched the cookie bag from the counter. With no goodnight or farewell, Byakuya opened the door to leave the cafe and walk back into the stormy outside.
“Plebeian. Pathetic imbecile…” Byakuya muttered under his breath as he stomped out of the cafe. His hand gripping the espresso shot tightened as he cursed under his breath. “I am way too exhausted for this foolishness. How dare–”
Byakuya paused in his tracks as he saw what the barista had written on his espresso shot. Byakuya had believed it was his name, but what was on it was an atrocity. It was the beginning of his name, cut off by a badly drawn middle finger and a following comment saying: “Jerk!!!”
“This…” Byakuya hissed under his breath as he stared down at the cup. This was the most childish, foolish, ridiculous thing he had seen in his entire life. His upper lip twitched as he grits his teeth, staring down at the cup with his name vandalized. His face burned as he flushed red with annoyance, contrasting the rest of his body which was now slowly starting to get cold due to the rain soaking his clothes. “This–!”
Byakuya was ready to swivel around, stomp back to the cafe, and lose it on that pathetic barista. At least that’s what he was planning to do. At least that’s what he wanted to do…but he was stuck in place, staring down at the cup with his name vandalized. He wanted to go back, but he stayed in place and for some reason, the more he looked at his name being vandalized, the more he thought about those olive-green eyes. The determination in that gaze, the way the young man stood his ground and pushed through with embarrassing Byakuya with this, and how he treated him.
He’d pay.
Byakuya blinked as he was brought out of his annoyance when he heard his phone ring. He quickly checked, then immediately picked up once he saw Aloysius’ name on the phone.
Whatever. This small little lowly cafe as well as their rude little barista would pay, Byakuya would make sure of that. He’d return tomorrow… embarrass Makoto just as he had embarrassed Byakuya. He’ll come back…he most definitely will.
And that was all he thought about, even when Aloysius was trying to tell him about his future on the phone.
“Pompous jerk,” Makoto mumbled out loud as his eyes narrowed, watching the blonde tall man chug the espresso in one shot while resuming to walk away. Makoto’s hands were placed on the chain of the curtain if he wasn’t so busy staring at the rude guy who now had taken out his phone and continued to speedwalk away from the cafe in the pouring rain.
Would it have been five minutes? Makoto didn’t know. Time disappeared quickly as he stared at the guy, supposedly on a stressful phone call, walking away and then turning the corner. Officially disappearing from Makoto’s sight. Makoto was only brought out of his daze once he saw a couple pass by and look at him with a confused expression, and out of embarrassment, Makoto smiled nervously at them then speedily brought down the curtains.
Makoto decided to close the cafe at his own pace. As he swept and mopped the floors, those blue eyes of that jerk decided to interrupt his thought process. Makoto decided to put some of his favorite songs on the speakers, but not even the catchy lyrics he loved were enough to throw off the arrogant expression on the tall guy’s face.