Work Text:
Sasaki is behind the counter helping an old woman when Miyano enters the bakery.
It's early Sunday morning, one of the only days Miyano has free lately, and though he'd much rather spend his day off at home curled up in bed reading manga like a hermit, he misses Sasaki something fierce when they don't get to meet up at least once a week. Plus, Sasaki had promised to take him out to the movies today. There was this documentary he'd been really wanting to see, and also a live-action adaption of a manga they both read, and he was curious to see which one Sasaki chose to take him to- or, perhaps, if Sasaki took him to both, considering how early in the day it was. Not that he expected Sasaki to cater to his wants, but the older boy liked to spoil him; it had taken a while for him to get comfortable with the idea of said spoiling, but once he figured out that Sasaki's primary form of showing affection (right after physical touch) was doing things for him, he'd come around to it.
"Good morning, I'll be with you in just a- oh, crap,"
And. Well. That wasn't the reaction Miyano thought he'd get.
Had Sasaki texted to cancel and Miyano hadn't seen it? No, his phone hadn't vibrated the entire train ride or walk here. Maybe Sasaki just forgot about their date. He'd been a bit forgetful, lately, with classes picking up speed but Miyano didn't mind- he'd never get upset with Sasaki if he did forget a date, he'd just reschedule. He opens his mouth to say just that, but Sasaki shouts over to him that he'll just be a second, sorry, Miya, and so he stays put.
Miyano watches from the doorway as Sasaki helps the old woman to her car with the scones she'd bought. When he returns to the now-empty bakery, his customer service smile vanishes and he pulls Miyano into a tight hug, groaning.
"Miyano~ I'm so sorry, I totally forgot to text you! I'm stuck here by myself right now and have no idea when my mom will be back."
"It's no problem, really. I can head home, if you want." Miyano's hands reach up to pet at Sasaki's hair in an attempt at comforting Sasaki, who melts into the touch.
"I don't want. I wanna spend time with you. But I also don't want you to be bored. But also, you wasted your time coming all this way just to go back, and- ugh, stupid Satoko."
Miyano frowns. Though he and Sasaki's sister had finally smoothed things out, for the most part, he was still a bit wary whenever she was mentioned. "I- What's your sister have to do with why you're stuck here alone?.."
"Well, her and mom were originally only going to be gone for a half an hour or so to do some deliveries, but Satoko fell out of the truck and landed on her ankle at a weird angle or something, I guess?..So mom had to take her to A&E."
"Oh my god, is she okay?"
Sasaki shrugs. "They think it's just a small fracture, but there's a biggg wait or whatever right now so she hasn't even been taken down to get it X-rayed. They've been texting me updates, but it doesn't look like they'll be out any time soon."
"I'm so sorry, Sasaki. I hope it hasn't been to crazy, with you here all alone."
"Eh, not really. I've been able to get some baking done today between customers, but I haven't really been able to get any cleaning done. And the rush'll probably be coming in a bit, since we close early on Sundays and everyone'll want bread for the week, but I don't have nearly enough loaves done, and- Sorry, Miya. I really wanted to take you out today, but I'm gonna have to take a rain check."
"No, it's okay! I can stay and help you out, if you want. I'm not good in the kitchen, but I can get the cleaning you need done out of the way. And- uh- If you teach me how to use the register, quick, I can check people out so you can keep up with baking..?"
Sasaki stares at Miyano for a long moment, his eyes wide, and for a second he thinks maybe he said something wrong, but then his boyfriend's arms are wrapping around him tightly, pulling him in for another hug.
"Awee, Miya~ That's so sweet! But I couldn't ask that of you."
"Well it's a good thing you didn't ask, then. I- I'm offering. And I won't let you say no, so you'd better show me how to use the register before another customer comes in."
So Sasaki does just that. He gets Miyano a hair tie to put his hair back, and an apron, and then he's set to work while Sasaki gets back to the kitchen with the promise to help him use the register the next time a customer comes in. He gets to work sweeping the front and cleaning up displays. Soft music filters in through the speakers, and through the door he can hear Sasaki singing along. It's- It's almost domestic. Is this what it would be like when he and Sasaki moved in together?..
Woah. When? When he and Sasaki move in together? There were a lot of steps before moving in together- like graduating high school, for one. And getting into university. And getting a job, a real job, not a part-time job while he's attending school, and- and-
The bell above the door jingles and Miyano is shaken from his thoughts of the future; he raises his head from the counter to greet the entering customer, plastering a smile on his face as he slings the cloth he'd been using to wipe the counter over his shoulder. He takes their order and prepares it, but once he reaches the register he remembers something.
"Ah, could you excuse me for just a moment..? I'm new to this, so I don't quite know how to use the register yet..."
The college student on the other side of the counter smiles at him. "Take all the time you need, I know how it is!"
"Thank you. Sasa- Shuumei, can you come out here? There's a customer,"
It feels weird calling Sasaki by his surname in his family's bakery. It also feels weird calling him Shuumei in front of strangers. But it's worth it when he sees his boyfriend's face as he peeks his head through the door to the kitchen- he looks dazed, almost, a dumb smile plastered on his face. "Sure thing, Yoshikazu~"
He fights the urge to hide his face, trying to focus his attention as Sasaki shows him how to ring up the girl's order. It's actually pretty easy. Another customer comes as she's leaving, and Sasaki oversees the exchange before getting back to his own work. But not before giving Miyano a quick kiss on the cheek.
After that, it's pretty slow. Once the front is cleaned, he makes his way to the back and cleans what he can, but he wants to stay out of Sasaki's way as much as possible so he heads back out front. Sasaki brings out a few items to the front display case every now and again, but for the most part, he stays in the back. Not that Miyano minds. There are signs of him everywhere, from his earrings sitting in a little jar behind the register, to the sound of him in the kitchen as he sings along to the radio and talks himself through his recipes. While the bread he's prepping bakes, he makes his way out to front of house and sits on the counter while Miyano leans against the opposite wall, and they share a scone- Miyano's half just plain butter, Sasaki's half hazelnut spread.
"So, any update on Satoko?"
"Hm? Oh, yeah, she's got a broken ankle for sure. They're just waiting for someone to come set it and cast it."
"Ouch. That's gotta suck."
"Yeah, and she'll be off her feet for a couple'a weeks, too, so I suppose I've got a lot more work here on my plate coming up." Sasaki says, a bittersweet look on his face. "So I might have to bail on date nights for a while. Sorry, Yoshikazu~"
Miyano does hide his face this time, his cheeks flushing a deep red as he buries his face in his hands. "I- It's alright...Shuumei...We can still call during the week like normal."
"Sounds like a deal. Then I can at least get a bit of my weekly Miya fix. Maaan, I can't wait until we're both in uni- then we might actually have overlapping schedules for once."
"Yeah, that'd be nice." Miyano can't help the dreamy sigh that slips out. He reaches out and grabs Sasaki's hand, fiddling with his fingers. "That reminds me- I have a few manga I might bring over for you to hold hostage until after entrance exams are done. I like to have them for study breaks, but I get too into them and forget to get back to studying, so it's probably best I avoid the temptation all together..."
"Ha, of course you do. Anything I might find interesting?"
"Just a couple of oneshots I found interesting on my last trip to the book store and one or two continuations of some series I have..."
Sasaki raises an eyebrow. "Am I going to have a whole library in my room while I'm babysitting these manga?.."
"...Maybe?"
Sasaki laughs and, without warning, pulls Miyano forward and into a hug. "I love you so much, you know that, Miya?"
Miyano's cheeks flush at that, and he hides his face against Sasaki's chest. Sasaki isn't shy about showing his affection, even if it makes his boyfriend's brain combust. It's strange to think they've only been together for a little under a year, because the love he feels for Sasaki is so intense, so overwhelming, it feels like they've been together for years.
"I...I love you too, Shuumei."
Sasaki short-circuits at the use of his given name, or perhaps at the rarely used 'l word.' He chokes on air, squeezing Miyano ever-so-slightly tighter. Miyano thinks he can hear Sasaki mutter something along the lines of "Why do you have to be so damn cute?" but the front door opening and the bell above it jingling startles them both- they practically fly apart, both flushed bright red, as a couple enters.
"H- Hello, welcome in! Let us know if you need anything..!"
The couple that had entered give them a knowing smile as they peruse the displays. Sasaki slides off the counter and gives Miyano a quick pat on the shoulder, his head ducked shyly. "I'm, uh- I'm gonna go back to the kitchen. The last bakes of the day should be coming out and then I can get started on closing stuff before the rush comes."
"Hm? A- Alright. Yell if you need anything."
He boxes up a half dozen donuts and a half dozen cupcakes for the couple that had come in, but before he can even recover from the heart attack of their arrival, they're gone and a moderately-sized group comes in behind them. After that, there's a wave of customers that lasts almost an entire hour, in which Sasaki has to duck out of the kitchen to assist, and they work in a comfortable semi-silence, side by side. Once the crowd lulls, Sasaki tells Miyano to relax while he finishes closing up, and Miyano is more than happy to do so- he leans against the front counter while Sasaki mops the front of house, reading a review for a manga they both read out loud. It's so domestic and relaxing, and just for a moment, Miyano thinks about his earlier thoughts of living together. He doesn't even notice he'd trailed off until Sasaki's voice cuts into the air.
"Y' good, Miya?"
"Hm? Yeah- Yeah, I'm okay. Sorry, I lost track of where I was..."
"Hey, it's no problem. You've been doing a lot of math and stuff today with the register, I know my attention can wander after a rush like that. I just need to dump this water and put the petty cash away before we lock up- Satoko says she'll count the till when they get back from the hospital, since she feels bad about leaving me stuck here by myself all day."
"You weren't by yourself. I was here and mostly helpful."
"Yeah, but she doesn't need to know that. If she's offering, I don't mind missing out on the mind-numbingly boring counting, losing count, starting over, losing count, starting over-"
"Okay, okay, I get it. What she doesn't know won't hurt her, I suppose," Miyano cuts him off with a laugh. He tucks his phone in his pocket and stretches, opening his mouth to ask Sasaki if he wanted to go out to eat once the bakery was locked up, or if he just wanted to go up to his room and relax, when the front door opens and a frazzled-looking older guy stumbles in, panting for breath.
"Please tell me you're still open. My wife'll kill me if I don't have something fresh tonight when her mother comes into town."
Sasaki sets the mop and bucket down by the door to the kitchen, smiling at the man as he wipes his hands on his apron. "You'll have to pick what's on display, since the last rush wiped us out, but if you're alright with that we can definitely get you set."
"Oh, thank you! I'll be quick, I promise I'll be out of your hair so fast-"
Sasaki goes about working on the man's order, packing up four mini tartes, a dozen cookies, and half a dozen cake pops, but when he reaches for a bag to put it all in, he comes up short. "Ah, damn, we must've run out of bags. I think we have some in the back- Miya, do you mind checking him out while I go grab some?"
"No problem, Shuu."
Sasaki disappears through the door to the kitchen and Miyano jumps to the register, keying in the total and taking the man's cash; he'd gotten the hang of using the register pretty quickly, and the total had been pretty simple to make change for, so while they wait for Sasaki to return, he and the man chat idly.
"So, uh- Your mother in law is coming to town, huh?"
"Hm? Oh, yeah. She lives on the other side of the country, so when she comes, it's a huge deal. Which I don't mind, but things got kind of busy at work, and I kept forgetting to get the sweets my wife told me to get for her, so...sorry again for rushing in here like a hurricane. Looks like you guys were closing up."
"It's no problem."
"Well, I really appreciate it. Y'know, it's weird, though- I'd heard this place was a family-run business, but I had no idea it was a young couple running it. How do you guys keep up with being so young in a relationship and running a business together?"
"I- Oh, no, we don't run it together! It's his mothers' shop. We just ended up working together today by chance..."
"Ah, I see. Well, you two are naturals. Do you think you guys'll take over when his mother decides to retire?"
Miyano ducks his head shyly. "I don't know, we hadn't talked about it...I wouldn't mind, I suppose, if that was what he wanted to do."
"Right, well- ah, there's that bag. Thank you again, you two are life savers."
Sasaki appears next to Miyano as though he'd just teleported there, quickly helping the man load his purchases into a bag before ushering him out, locking the door behind him. When he turns around, he all but pounces on top of Miyano, pulling him in for another tight embrace. Miyano is a bit surprised, but hugs back nonetheless, one hand reaching up to curl into the hairs at the nape of Sasaki's neck. "Everything alright, Sasaki?"
"C'n you call me Shuumei again?"
It's barely a whisper. Miyano isn't sure he'd heard him right. "Huh?"
"Can you call me Shuumei again?.." Sasaki repeats, a bit louder yet just as shy. Miyano smiles.
"Whenever you want me to, Shuumei. Now, is everything alright?"
Sasaki hesitates a moment, his grip on Miyano never wavering. "...Did you mean it? When you said you wouldn't mind running the bakery together one day?"
It's Miyano's turn to feel shy. He buries his face deeper into Sasaki's neck, embarrassed. "You- You heard that, huh?"
"Maybe. I wasn't trying to eavesdrop, I just happened to hear it while I was dumping the mop water on my way back. I- Sorry. I know it's too early to think about stuff like that, you were just talking to the guy, and- sorry."
"You don't need to be sorry. I think it's cute you're putting thought into our future. If I'm being honest, I have been too..."
Sasaki pulls away enough to peek down at Miyano curiously. "You have?"
"N- Not anything crazy like marriage or anything like that yet, but- yeah...like maybe moving in together once we're both done with university, what holidays we'll spend with which side of our families..."
Sasaki's eyes are so bright, his smile so wide, that for a moment Miyano thinks he might burst into flames. He looks positively overjoyed- and all because Miyano admitted to thinking about their future. His boyfriend was so unbelievably adorable. Standing on his tip toes, he presses a chaste kiss against Sasaki's cheeks before pulling away.
"But, to answer your question, I think it could be a possibility. Running the bakery together. That is, if Satoko doesn't want to do it."
"Y'know, I haven't really asked her. I suppose I've always just thought she didn't want to. But you really wouldn't mind? I mean, if she doesn't want to. It would be a lot of days like this."
"As long as I have you, I couldn't think of a better way to spend a Sunday."