Chapter Text
“You’re so hot, you would make a nuclear reactor melt down…”
Sugawara lifted his eyes and met the chaotic and black-haired guy who was grinning at him.
“Seriously Kuroo... Don't you have like... I don't know... A job to go to?” Suga sighed. He already had a busy morning shift, and this rooster head wasn’t helping.
“Suga, you don't understand. I'm dying here! How am I supposed to work with him standing there looking so cute?! I just... AHH feel like I'm having mental breakdowns every day.” Kuroo said as he put his face on the counter and pretended to cry.
Suga looked at him and put a hand on his shoulder.
“You'll be fine. You'll think of something. But please. Don't use those awful pick-up lines.”
“HEY! They're great.”
“No, they're not. And you don't need them to make Kenma fall for you, that guy is already smitten. Now get out of my cafe or I'll call Yaku.”
Kuroo looked up at him with a frightened expression and gasped. “You wouldn't...”
“Watch me.” He said as he picked up his phone.
“Fine, fine ! I’ll go !” He lifted his arms in surrender. “Jeez…” he said as he stood up and put his coat back on.
“Bye bye, Sugar !”
Suga smiled to himself as he watched his friend leave The Flightless Crows.
It was a little before noon and the café was not too crowded. He took a deep breath. Goodness, Kuroo was nice, but when he was in love, he could be really exhausting.
It was quiet. The only thing that could be heard was the sound of the few customers talking in the small booths.
The Flightless Crows was a small coffee shop situated near a college. The clients were usually students but sometimes teachers would also come in to relax after their day at work.
Sugawara Koushi, a third-year education student, was the manager of the café. He had been working there since his first year and had managed to earn his place. He mostly ran the place since the owner wasn't really around and he was so proud of what the café looked like.
A cozy place where students could meet, talk, flirt, have their first dates, and sometimes break up... It didn't happen very often, but the staff had to check this case on the bingo card of things that happened in their café.
Right now, his little protégé was having one of them. It had taken him a few weeks to work up the courage to ask his crush out on a date. And Suga couldn't help but give him a warm smile when the redhead looked at him from his booth. He was only two years younger than him, but Suga thought of him as a little brother.
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“Sugaaaa-san ! I’m definitely going to get rejected ! He’s way too cool to go out with me ! I’m just going to make a fool of myself…” Hinata pouted, mopping on the counter, his coffee long forgotten.
“Shô-kun, you’re really cool yourself. And if the guy can’t see that then it means he doesn’t deserve you.” He said as he was looking at his younger friend.
It has been since the start of the year that Hinata Shoyo had his eyes on a history student.
Apparently, the guy seemed cold and sharped, but he helped Shoyo finding a book at the library once and the red hair was now absolutely head over heels, finding any excuses he could to bump into the tall blond and talk to him about anything.
“Plus, if he was really bothered by you, he wouldn’t help you with your work when it’s not even his major, don’t you think ?”
Hinata looked up, “I guess… Maybe you’re right…”
“You could ask him to study here, to test the water, see how it goes outside the library ?”
“Yeah… Okay, I’ll try that ! Thank’s Suga-San !” Shoyo stood up, his confidence boosted.
“I’ll see you around !” he said as he ran away.
Suga smiled and looked at the full cup of coffee, making a mental note to offer Shoyo a free coffee the next time he came here.
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Now Shoyo was sitting in front of the tall blonde... What was his name again? Suga couldn't remember. Something to do with the moon, Shoyo said. That was one of the things he was so excited about. He thought it was fate or something.
Well, it seemed to go quite well, the moon guy didn't run away yet.
Suga turned around and started making his favorite drink. Of all the options on the menu, he had a weakness for the oat milk matcha latte. He swore that the sweetness of the plant-based milk and the bitterness of the green tea powder could heal everything his heart had been through.
“Suga... We're running out of caramel syrup...” Noya said, looking at the nearly empty bottle.
“Deliveries should be arriving by this evening. Try to suggest other things when people ask for caramel drink. Okay, Noya?”
“Sure, boss!” he smiled sincerely and walked (understand that as running) towards the small kitchen. Suga smiled at the antics of his younger colleagues. It was nice to have people like him during the slow shift. He made the place lively and so welcoming.
Noya was from New York City. Well, not really. He lived in Japan when he was a kid, but his parents had to move to America for work. During his first year of college, he decided to become an exchange student and came back to Tokyo for a year.
He didn't really need a job, but then he met Asahi. Suga's colleague since their first year. Needless to say, he came into the shy guy's life like a hurricane. They clicked almost immediately, and it took less than a week for Asahi to introduce him to Suga when he was working with The Flightless Crows.
Noya fell in love with the place and begged Suga to work there. He needed the distraction, couldn't stay with nothing to do but study. So Suga talked to the owner and explained that he could use another pair of hands. And Noya got the job.
The day was strangely quiet for a Friday. Perhaps it was the weight of finals week. Students wrapped up in their own thoughts, too consumed by their studies to face the biting cold and swirling snow for a simple cup of coffee. But then again, there were the exceptions. Shoyo and his date stood up from their booth and as they passed in front of the counter, Shoyo, ever the ball of energy, had a grin so wide it could have lit up the whole café. Then, he flashed a thumbs-up at Suga, his eyes sparkling, as if someone put stars in them. Maybe that was what happened here.
A date gone well; it seemed.
Suga couldn’t help but roll his eyes affectionately. But he felt something in his chest, it wasn’t jealousy, not exactly. It was something else. A feeling he couldn’t quite place, something bittersweet, like witnessing a love story that wasn’t his own.
He was used to be on the sidelines of his customers love stories, an observer to some moments of happiness and romance. And maybe his Matcha Latte wouldn’t help this time.
Suga was cleaning the counter, lost in his thoughts, facing the wall, when the cold hit his skin as someone opened the door. Must be the delivery guy, he thought. He looked at the clock. 6 PM. Yes... And he's late.
When he turned around though, his breath hitched for just a second. A young man stood in front of the counter, eyes scanning the menu on the wall. His cheeks were flushed from the cold, a soft pink that only made the deep brown of his eyes stand out more. Tiny snowflakes clung to his coat, glistening under the warm café lights. He wore a burgundy scarf, snug around his neck.
There was something about him, something captivating and yet so calm. Suga found himself lingering on the sight a little too long.
He shook his head. It wasn’t the first time someone good looking had walked into this café. And yet… this felt different.
“Are you ready to order ? Or would you like to take another look at the menu ?” Suga asked nicely, trying to make eye contact with the handsome man.
The man’s gaze drifted down from the menu, and in that instant, he noticed the waiter. If Suga had been paying closer attention, he might have caught the way the sorrow in the man’s eyes melted into something softer something almost joyful, like the stirrings of a long-forgotten longing.
For a moment, time seemed to slow. The man before him looked almost heavenly, an angel bathed in the golden café light. And if he were honest with himself, he wouldn’t deny it, he was captivated by his beauty.
“I... uh… I think I’ll just have an Espresso ? To take away ?” he blurted out.
“Is that a question, or is it what you want ?” Suga smiled at him. Okay. The guy looked sweet.
“I’ll take an Espresso.” The man said more confidently. The red on his face wouldn’t fade away though.
“Would you like a pastry with it ? We have those good scones and well, since we’re closing soon, I don’t think they’ll find a lot more owners. And honestly… I had way too much of them already.”
The guy looked at him with curious eyes but finally nodded.
“Alright, wouldn’t want you to be sick of them.” He said, offering Suga a small smile. He then paid for his drink and one scone.
Suga took a paper bag and put some pastries inside. He couldn’t help but notice an inch of sadness in that guy expression, so he decided to slide more than one pastry in the bag. Wouldn’t put the Café in debt, no one would buy them now anyway.
“Can I get a name for your drink ?”
“Daichi.”
“Daichi…” Suga repeated, tasting the name on his tongue. He then took a pen and wrote his name on the cup, drawing a happy face next to it.
He walked over to the coffee maker and made... Well, an espresso. It was a simple request, but Suga had noticed that when people came here, they usually didn't order the simplest thing. The Flightless Crows was known for its fancy drinks with Chantilly, caramel, chocolate chips, and enough sugar to give you cavities. And Suga couldn't help but grimace at the thought that this drink would be too bitter for him.
“Here you go, Daichi.” Suga said as he gave him his order with a wink.
“Ah, thank you.”
And Suga swore he saw a little blush on the guy’s face.
“Are you a student ? I’ve never seen you here before.”
Daichi nodded. “Yeah, um... I just moved around a few days ago.” He didn’t say more so Suga didn’t ask. But it was rare for a student to come so this late in the year.
“Well, Welcome. I hope I’ll see you again someday, Daichi.” Oh, how he already liked saying that name. What was wrong with him ? He didn’t know what to do with this feeling. All he knew was that somehow, he couldn’t wait for the chance to say it again.
“Yeah… um… See you, Suga.” He said as he left, almost too quickly, as if he was scared to say something more.
Suga wiped down the last of the tables, he received the long-awaited deliveries and put everything in place, refilling some of the containers, the quiet hum of the closing café settling around him. His mind, however, wasn’t on the task.
It lingered on the man from earlier. There was no reason for it, really, but something about him had stuck. Maybe it was the way his dark eyes softened when they met his, or the way he stuttered when he started talking, or even maybe how the warmth of his shy smile lingered even after he had walked out the door. Suga didn’t know.
He wouldn’t mind seeing him again. The thought came so naturally, so effortlessly. Maybe it has been too long since he dated someone. Asahi told him he should try and meet new people. Bold thing to say. Not everyone is lucky enough to have a tornado come into their life like he had.
But just as he reached for the lights, his jacket on and the keys of the café in his hand, he froze.
Wait.
That guy… he had said his name.
Suga had never mentioned it.