Chapter Text
The buzz of a phone went off, loud amidst the quiet ambience of the room; the emptiness of his apartment swallowing the vibrance patiently and without urging the dormant pile underneath tons of covers to answer the incoming call. February was, after all, a cold month. Cold, still and the easiest time for Kageyama Tobio to recover his fatigued mind over the few weeks off he had from his master’s occasional online classes.
The vibrations fell silent, his wooden nightstand stilling for two seconds before resuming its shaking again. Slowly, Tobio reached for the device, enjoying the cold breaking the skin of his arm into goosebumps if only because the rest of his body was still safely warm under the covers. He answered the call without bothering to check who was dialing, clicking on the right button with practiced ease. He brought the phone close to his ear, clearing his throat shortly in an attempt to pretend he wasn’t still in bed, but was interrupted before he could even breathe in to muster a greeting.
The quiet of the room shattered with the screeching voice of his sister echoing till the farthest corner of his apartment, the most effective way to shake Tobio fully awake.
“Tobio-chan! Drop whatever you’re doing and get your ass here right now!” Miwa’s voice was hurried, background noise loud enough to hint that the shop was also in a rush. Tobio’s brain was apparently vivid enough to notice such thing, though not to respond in time to his frantic sister. “Are you still in bed, you prick?” she sounded impressed, almost offended.
“It’s not even nine in the morning, nee-san” he confirmed after a short glance through squinting eyes at the tiny numbers on his screen, defensive at the tone of his sister.
“Whatever. I’ll give you thirty minutes tops to drop by the shop. I really need another hand with things around here.” Her voice got distant from a moment as some more joined in an undistinguished exchange to Tobio besides a joyful ‘you’re welcome’ from Miwa before she was talking directly to the speaker again. “Oh, and don’t dress too nice. Things will get tumultuous as the day passes by and I don’t want to see you pouting over your clothes getting dirty”.
“I don’t pout over-”
“I won’t argue with you about that because you absolutely do and I do not have enough time for that right now” the sound of the shop’s phone ringed close on Miwa’s end then, and she was quick to end the call. “But I may once you get here. So, hurry up if you want to discuss your pride.” Before she hung up, she had already picked up the incoming call, her voice far as she greeted the customer politely.
If Miwa had let down an opportunity to tease him more that easily, then Tobio guessed that things were actually busy at work, which was enough realization to make him step out of his haven in order to begin his morning before he had intended to – and quite differently, too.
He cut short his shower, his skin barely soaking beneath the cold spray and far from feeling it settle in bones when he had already shut down the flow of water. The shivers running down his spine as he stepped out of his bathroom were untamable even after a cold shower, given how much colder the air in the apartment was, and with the fact that a towel secured around his hips was no help at all against it. Still, he welcomed the shudder, bashed on its feeling for a second before covering his body properly with an attire that he didn’t pay much attention to besides making sure it was warm enough to shelter him from the freezing weather outside.
Once he was ready with only his shoes left, Tobio glanced at his phone still waiting on the bedside table, laying there quietly, screen dark with no recent activity until he tapped it twice to check if Miwa had sent him a message whilst he was busy readying himself, but found nothing apart from the time blinking up at him that signaled that he could spare some minutes to make some coffee to endure the day he had ahead.
Leisurely, but rather quick with his long strides, he got into the kitchen and started looking for the ingredients of his go-to drink that would be much simpler were Tobio a man who enjoyed the taste of black coffee – but then again, he wasn’t. So, rummaging through his cabinets, he fished for his travel mug first, his mouth already tasting the hot sweet milk blended with coffee, but was dragged out of his fantasy upon lifting the coffee container and sensing it was suspiciously light; enough to hint that it was not only light, but empty, as he confirmed with a twist of the lid that gave way to the sight of the unoccupied space.
Great, he thought. Though, on the bright side, he was glad it had been coffee what he had run out of rather than sweetener. He may be able to survive a morning without caffeine, but he would be close to desperation if he had to do the same with a sour mouth thanks to remains of plain black coffee.
Finding some comfort on that fact, he sighed and started to put everything back in its place. With a final look at his kitchen – which he noted that lacked the smell of recently made coffee – he scribbled a mental note to remind himself to restock his coffee once Miwa let him free – however late that would be.
Not wanting to dwell on that, Tobio marched towards the main door and hoped that the day would be bearable enough to survive it before he could have a proper drink – preferably sweet.
It was shortly proven to Tobio that one morning at Miracle Bud was not only hectic but also physically exhausting.
He had never been this drenched out in his twenty-three years of life. And it had been barely two hours since he arrived.
Apparently, Miwa’s urgent call for help was based on one specific task that she thought suitable for Tobio, who could only blink back at her once she revealed his duties to him.
“You needed me to… receive flowers?” he asked, confused as he glanced around the shop, spotting already some bouquets throughout the stalls, though considerably less than what was usual for Miwa to have in stock.
“Receive and take them to the back of the shop, yeah” Miwa nodded, the movement making the hair clipped on top of her head bounce. Tobio frowned, not understanding how this was a job he was only capable of doing, as Miwa had told him.
She grinned, sensing his confusion, and said in a defiant tone “Don’t underestimate flowers, Tobio-chan”.
As if on cue, the distant sound of wheels got closer until a delivery truck parked outside the shop. Tobio could only stare through the wide windows of the store that allowed him to watch as two men descended from the vehicle, marching towards the end of it to open the door before starting to work in unison to move whatever they were delivering.
After a minute or so, Tobio noticed that the men had stopped moving stuff around to glance at the shop – or rather into it through the same windows that Tobio was staring though from the inside. He turned around to ask Miwa if she was expecting a package to arrive today when the men started to look a bit more desperate to be left waiting.
“Nee-san, did you have anything scheduled to arrive today?”.
“I have a lot of things scheduled to arrive today, yes” she confirmed, almost automatically without lifting her gaze from her notebook.
“Uh, then I guess it’s here, though I don’t know why they don’t come in to deliver it” Tobio was looking back at the men, genuine confusion visible in his pouting face.
“You don’t know why-” Miwa started to repeat what her brother had said, confused enough to finally separate her eyes from her writing and instead look up at Tobio, trying to understand what he was talking about. She followed his line of sight and sighed in desperation immediately after registering who Tobio was talking about. “Those are the delivery guys, smartass” she said and Tobio nodded with a frown of his own, already knowing that because that’s what he had said. Miwa exaggerated a groan and rolled her eyes. “Those are your guys, Tobio. Remember? You were going to receive the flowers, and they had to get here somehow.” Having that explained was making Tobio feel flustered but, in his defense, he wasn’t expecting a ginormous truck to be the one carrying delicate flowers in its insides. “Well, that delivery truck brought them, though the service only included transportation, nothing else. So that’s where you step up, idiot.” There was a light slap at his nape, the highest point of Miwa’s reach. “Now, you better get going because the next truck is expected to arrive in ten minutes and the countdown has long started”.
“The next truck…?” Sincerely, it was all Tobio registered, not understanding why Miwa would need another vehicle when one seemed big enough to storage enough flowers to last her a long while.
Miwa smiled, wickedly, but refused to answer anything else besides sending him off.
“Get out”.
Just like that, “the next truck” had become an phrase used so many times that Tobio believed there was no end in sight to his labor of unloading trucks and carrying flowers grouped in piles twice his size to the shop’s storage, with mere seconds for him to breath out some thanks to the men driving the vehicles before another truck appeared at the end of the street and that approached way too fast for Tobio’s slowly decaying strength.
At the beginning, he had taken his time, going as far as looking at the flowers in his hands to name them, knowing their species by heart after growing up with Miwa and her ever-present love for flowers. However, once he realized that Miwa wasn’t joking with having a timer set for each delivery, he had to pick up his pace as he walked from one end of the shop to another, stop his mind from wondering which type of flower he was carrying, and gather more than a bunch of flowers with each trip he took, getting even three of the groupings at once despite putting his well-being at risk with his vision compromised behind the ginormous bunches taking up all of his sight.
And, when he was almost done with every truck, the time seemed to pass by faster, urging Tobio to stop walking in order to accelerate his step until it became a proper jog.
To say he was tired was an understatement; he was absolutely dying on the spot. He had even stopped feeling the cold every time he stepped out during his short trips and, though he was still not on the point of breaking a sweat, he had long forgotten his sweater and was now only sporting a white T-shirt underneath an apron that Miwa had lent him.
If she cared so much about me, she wouldn’t have made me come to do this awful task, Tobio thought childishly.
Contrary to what she had warned him earlier that morning, things hadn’t got dirty per se, but there were stains that even if they weren’t exactly visible against the dark fabric of his apron, Tobio could still sense some of the humidity on them that the flowers left as he hugged them to his chest in a secure grip. That, and the fact that his clothes and skin were impregnated with the smell of flowers so strongly that Tobio got the impression that it would take days for it to be properly washed away.
By the time the fourth truck was driving away and Tobio spotted another one appearing around the corner, he didn’t even feel bad anymore, thinking that he had found a rhythm to it. What he did though, was wonder if Miwa was, by any chance, leaving the world devoid of flowers, as it seemed to him that they had them all now stocked in the shop.
Then, as a side thought that occurred to him when he continued to unload another bunch of red flowers of some kind, he went as far as to ponder if his sister was secretly rich and actively hiding that information from him because there was no way that she wasn’t after being requested to make a quadrillion bouquets with all of the flowers that kept coming in, surely of sizes almost as large as the obnoxiously high prices that Tobio could bet they costed.
Who was even requesting all these bouquets, anyway?
With a new question to entertain himself, he placed the last bunch of flowers into the cramped space of the back of the shop, a room destined for storing items but that now looked more like a greenhouse with the number of plants kept there, still with a few days left on them to bloom gracefully. Tobio took one last glance at the colorful ocean expanding at his feet and hoped that that had been the last trip he took in all morning, since the door could barely close without gracing any petals.
Walking down the aisle that he had spent all morning going back and forth in a rush made Tobio feel awkward and at the same time relieved to do so one more time though on a more leisurely step. With his long strides, however, made him reach the front desk in a few seconds, where he got to hear a conversation going on.
“Is Valentine’s Day’s stress already catching up to you?” A man had asked, amusement tangible in his voice. When Tobio was close enough to identify who it was, he noticed that it was one of the delivery men from last time – the first who actually stepped into the shop.
And Miwa, who Tobio had seen all morning attending phone calls and scribbling down furiously on her notebook from every request that came in, was now past the rush of the early hours and chatting with him.
“Ah, don’t even mention it. I know that there’s a few days left, but I don’t think that the shop has ever been loaded with all this work.” She lifted her notebook thoroughly used, using its width and mess of sticky notes peeking from the inside as a reference to all the requests she had taken this far. “Luckily, I got a little help this time.” She grinned, proudly looking over to where Tobio was standing awkwardly after being caught hearing their conversation.
Apologizing briefly, Miwa waved it off and resumed her chat with the man, and Tobio allowed his attention to differ from them.
Not even a second later, he got it.
The artificial roses, the giant hearts of all colors and the number of drawings of babies dressed in only diapers that were pasted on every surface he could spot as he had walked by all the business earlier on his way to Miwa’s shop – it all made sense until now. It was February, he knew that, though he wasn’t aware of how close to the middle of the month they were – less to what date globally celebrated was coming straight right up.
In hindsight, Tobio should have seen it coming – it had been right under his nose the whole time, after all. But his obliviousness could be justified by the fact that he had never been much of a fan of the date, therefore any kind of decoration had always been more of simple background scenery to him.
Plus, shall Tobio admit, he didn’t understand the fuss around Valentine’s Day.
It was not as though he was against it – like some kind of Grinch for the holiday. In fact, he could recognize the beauty of the date as a concept: of celebrating the people you loved either romantically or platonically and going with your dearest friends or partners to spend a whole day with. Sure, that was great, even. His dilemma was only regarding the capitalization of the holiday and how exclusive it seemed to have become as the day people would cherish their relationships, as though they couldn’t show their love in the same way any other day.
Tobio himself had never dated anyone, but even he could tell that advertising the date as it had been done lately was with the intention of seeking out income rather than genuine celebration of what it alluded to.
Huh, some voice in his head said, you are kind of forgetting that business is what you do.
He hushed it, knowing damn well that he was doing a master’s in business to then work full time alongside his sister at the shop. But his principles were clear to him, still.
“Tobio, quit pouting.” Miwa’s voice got him out of his head. Tobio looked over to where she was still standing behind the counter, though now all by herself, grinning at the sight of her brother pouting over whatever was unfolding inside his mind.
His bottom lip protruded further before saying, “I’m not pouting”.
“We both know you are, quit fighting your big sister”.
“I’ll quit this job, is what I’m going to do”.
Miwa sighed, faking offense at his reply. “So mean, Tobio-chan.” She wiped an inexistent tear from the corner of her eye before regaining her composure. “Resignation declined, though. I still have another task for you before you even begin to think of a scape plan”.
Tobio didn’t answer but looked expectantly at her to tell him what he’d be doing next, both of them knowing that their banter was all a joke.
Miwa rummaged beneath the desk for a second before fishing out a clipboard that she set on the surface and reached to grab one of her blue pens as she started explaining.
“I need you to check the inventory of all the flowers that were brought in. There is a list of what I ordered for you to compare,” she turned the page the page on the clipboard to show Tobio another sheet with everything listed as she said. “Though I expect everything to be in order. It’s just protocol, you know”.
Tobio took the clipboard, read the numbers listed and nodded without much enthusiasm, making his way to the back of the shop once more.
Well, he should have kept track of every bunch he had carried before, definitely.
Tobio scribbled down the last number on the paper, a messy six of two-cipher number that curved too much and stretched too long that it took more on the appearance of a ‘o’ with some kind of horns rather than any existent number – though obvious enough in itself as to not be confused for any other digit.
Pleased with being done in relatively little time and knowing that his work was efficient, Tobio clicked on the end of his pen to retrieve its point to stop more ink to spread into his fingertips – enough blue cracks plastered into his skin to make him feel like a kid who’s still learning how to hold a pencil properly –, and marched back to the counter, away from the mess of bunches that had Tobio analyzing which red buds where roses and doing a double take on those which he settled on not being of that kind – all thanks to having a counter of over twenty dozens of bunches of that specific flower that seemed to never cease.
Arriving at the counter once again where Miwa had resumed her furious writing on her notebook, Tobio waited for the phone call to end and for his sister to put down her own pen after taking note of the umpteenth bouquet request of the day before speaking.
“All done.” He placed the clipboard on the desk, sliding it towards Miwa who glanced at it as Tobio kept talking. “I wrote down the names of the flowers I could identify along with the number of bunches that were there, and then I did a double check, and until everything summed up the same total for each type of flower did I actually compare it to your own chart”.
“So dedicated, bro” Miwa teased, taking the clipboard without a second look after listening to the explanation of Tobio’s process and admitting it to be more than trustworthy.
“I just actually couldn’t believe that there were almost thirty bunches of roses alone.” Tobio’s face pinched as it recalled the memory of spotting that many flowers and then of putting a cipher on the masses only to confirm that they were a lot. “And to save myself from getting send back there, I got sure that everything was, in fact, correct”.
“Okay, I get it, you hate your job.” Miwa found way too funny the way in which he blinked twice as he thought of how to word the denial of that accusation. But, refraining from giving a logical answer, Tobio opted to play the little brother card at the last second.
“I could cry” he deadpanned, and Miwa snorted at the sight of his expression.
“Well, good thing that was about it, for now” she said, too nonchalant that Tobio almost missed what she was referring to before continuing to speak. “I’ll use this time to calculate how many flowers it’ll take to make the first bouquets so that I can place the right order for tomorrow’s delivery, anyway”.
Tobio decided not to focus on the last part, not wanting to suffer in advance overthinking what would be waiting for him again the next day.
“Are we done, then?” he asked in the end.
“For now, I said.” She punctuated; her finger raised in warning. “Go take a break, consider it your lunch time. I will call you when you’re needed again, so don’t hurry, either. Get on a walk, if you may – I don’t care, as long as you don’t run away from your responsibilities at the shop”.
Tobio considered that, appearing thoughtful for a second before asking, “Are my expanses covered by the company?”.
“No. And get out before I cut short your break time” Miwa threatened, eyes back on her notes.
Tobio retracted towards the entrance after aiming one last pout at his sister that went completely unnoticed by her, reaching for the glass door and pushing it to step outside, the chirp of the bell above his head almost unheard under a particular harsh gush of cold air that whistled around him immediately, ruffling his hair and finally meeting his skin with its freezing temperature, no sweater nor physical exertion to warm him up now.
He cursed under his breath, having forgotten to grab his coat when he got rid of his apron earlier. So, with the intention of going back to look for it, Tobio started to close the door again, but his motions were interrupted by something caught in the corner of his eye.
That which had lured him into stopping his every movement was no other thing than a young man – a ginger guy with a smile pestered on his face that lit up his features with a laugh that Tobio swore he could hear even from all the way across the street, where he was standing unable to see what was causing such reaction on the boy because he couldn’t take his eyes off him.
What the hell?
Before Tobio could even realize, his legs had begun marching to cross the street, as though enchanted by the sound of that laugh; drawn to the sight of a smile that was so bright that Tobio could bask in its warmth – coat and proper layering be damned.
Blinking out of the spell for a second to check both sides of the road before crossing, Tobio lost sight of the ginger when he looked back ahead, and was met instead with the front of a business that Tobio finally registered as a coffee shop, with its exterior painted a mustard yellow that gave it a perfect cozy vibe – another reason that attracted Tobio to get inside, besides his excuse of looking for the man.
Stepping into the asphalt once more, Tobio looked up to read the sign that had written in a bold, bubbly font ‘The Beaming Bean’, the colors of the words spelled tinted a walnut shade that complimented nicely the aesthetic of the place. Tobio hummed, appreciating the contrast for a moment, and then swept his eyes to another sign printed on the window that read:
‘TODAY AND ALWAYS: FRESH BEANS AND FRESHER BUNS!’.
If his mind and stupid drive hadn’t already settled on stepping inside the shop, then his stomach would have won against his – inexistant – resolve that would have crumbled at the urgent roar of his gut upon reading those words, hungry to prove what they said.
Giving in, Tobio pushed the door, and a little bell announced his entrance, though all he could focus on was the immediate delicious smell of baked goods that engulfed him wholly and that he bet were recently made if the welcoming heat inside the small café was anything to go by. Without much control over his body – as he had noticed since first spotting the now missing man –, he took a deep breath of air through his nose, relishing in the aroma of sweets and cinnamon filling up his lungs pleasantly.
Forgetting for a moment the main reason he had visited the place, Tobio followed his instinct now controlled by his appetite and found the counter where all the pastries where displayed, getting his mouth to water at the first sight of all the options laid out for him to choose: from perfectly small round cookies of many flavors, to big and creamy cakes that were topped with fresh fruit and curls of whipped cream.
Too engrossed in ogling the deserts in front of him, Tobio didn’t notice when it was his turn at the front of the line, where he now stood by himself, no clients behind him that could warn him about it. It was a shy – and obviously fake – cough which brought him back to reality, where he happened to be right in front of a blonde girl who was behind the counter (and that probably reached up to Tobio’s chest, by the way she was looking up at him with an exaggerated tilt of her neck backwards to meet his eyes), smiling bright as she welcomed him, light catching on the faint freckles on the bridge of her nose.
“Good morning! What can I get for you today?” It was probably not the first time she had asked him that, but she remained overly friendly as she repeated the question.
“Uh, I-” Tobio wanted everything, but he wasn’t going to order as much when he didn’t even know where to begin. He thought it over with an expression that Miwa would have totally called a pout, but it was just his thinking face.
On the outside, however, he only looked upset.
“Don’t worry, take all the time you need!” The girl reassured him though it sounded like she was mostly appeasing her own nerves provoked by his character – something that Tobio was still oblivious to.
Bringing a hand to cup his chin in concentration as his eyes roamed once again the endless rows of baked goods, Tobio did take his time to consider his choice. After a few minutes, the girl had stopped glancing nervously at him, probably having assumed that he was actually pondering that hard to decide what to buy.
His concentration was interrupted as a new voice sounded behind him, “You are welcome to take a seat, sir. I’ll be right back to offer you our complete menu so you can see our lunch options as well”. When Tobio turned to see who had spoken, he saw a freckled guy carrying a tray full of tiny plates and steaming cups and who, before resuming his walk towards one of the tables that were most likely expecting their orders, he called out for someone else that was out of Tobio’s sight.
“Shouyou! Help me out here! I still have other tables waiting.” The boy looked back at Tobio, offering a small smile as an apology. “My coworker will take it from here. Please choose any seat you like and wait for him.” He explained politely and Tobio was left back on his own in a second after muttering ‘No worries’, watching as the guy’s frame walked away with quick but sure movements.
Drumming his fingers against his sides, Tobio looked around to find a table and settled on one close to the entrance that he reached in a few long strides. Once seated on top of a cushioned chair, he took his time to take in the ambience of his surroundings: lighting pooled through the big front windows, getting his right side covered on the pale morning light from the outside which could be perceived as cold given the cloudy appearance of the sky, but one that couldn’t penetrate the comfortable warmth induced by heated ovens and whistling kettles with boiling water and–
“Good morning! Welcome to The Beaming Bean!”.
…and the talking ray of sunshine that was in front of Tobio right now.
Tobio gulped, feeling suddenly too warm from being face to face once again with the ginger guy, who was offering him a menu and the biggest smile in the fucking world.
“My name is Shouyou, and I’ll be your waiter today”, he straightened his posture after Tobio had taken the menu and was now openly staring at him with a wide smile. “I’ll give you some time to check the menu, though I may ask first if you’d like to have a drink in the meantime – black coffee is always on the house, if you are the type of person who enjoys that.” Shouyou informed as he fished out a small notepad from one of the pockets of his apron, ready to begin writing anything that would make up Tobio’s order and waiting to hear if he would take on the black coffee deal.
However, a punctuated grimace indicated that no, he wouldn’t, and that he was, in fact, displeased with the suggestion, even. The immediate reaction provoked a laugh to erupt past Shouyou’s lips, short and airy as he had not expected a man like that to be so expressive, less regarding simple coffee matters.
“Okay, noted. No black coffee for you.” The young man was still talking through the stretch of his lips in a wide smile, and Tobio was having a hard time focusing on what he was saying despite not being able to pry his eyes away from him.
Then, the bell on top of the door ringed as it opened to let more customers in alongside a gush of cold air that reached the spot where he was sitting near the entrance and causing him a whole body shudder at the sudden change in temperature that was gone in a second but that Tobio could still feel in his bones.
Trying to disguise his tremors was futile as the waiter – Shouyou, Tobio reminded himself – seemed to be paying close attention to him and launched a quick comment upon seeing his reaction.
“I’m going to bring you a hot drink since you’re not so smart if you decided to go out this morning without a coat or something when it’s clearly freezing” he said with a new smile that gave away the teasing on his voice at the same time it sounded fond, somehow.
Tobio, not wanting to read into that, simply replied with a frown on his brows, “I forgot.” Then, because the idea of something warm and sweet was more alluring, he asked a question of his own, “Could it be something with milk?”.
The man in front of him nodded immediately, “Of course! Any specific type of milk that you prefer?” As Tobio indicated no with a shake of his head, Shouyou continued, “All right. Is it okay if I recommend you one of our beverages? I’ll make sure it is both warm and prepared with milk”.
“And sweet” Tobio muttered in addition to his order, glancing up at the ginger who was staring back at him with pensive eyes and a small smile that stretched into a full one a second later.
“Okay, I’ll get you one of those. Take a look at the menu and I’ll be back in a second with your drink, if you’re ready to order anything else by then” With one last glance and smile at Tobio, the waiter retracted to march to the right end of the counter, where a tall blond with glasses was preparing another drink. There, Shouyou walked into the space, took a clean mug and started to make what was presumedly his drink – all under Tobio’s attentive gaze.
Blinking away from the ginger’s frame, Tobio redirected his attention to the menu on his hands and tried to focus on the meals listed on it, but it was harder than he would have expected, with his mind completely occupied by the image of Shouyou, and forcing himself not to keep on staring at the young man, a few feet away from him.
With his mind concentrating hard on not being perceived as a creep, Tobio didn’t realize when the man was making his way back to his table until a tray was placed on top of it carefully, a single transparent mug in its center perfectly still that showed the creamy brown liquid resting inside and that wouldn’t be seen any other way since the top of the beverage was covered by whipped cream dusted with white and dark sprinkles.
Tobio, despite his ignorance of not even knowing what the drink was, felt his mouth water at the mere sight of it.
Taking the mug with practice, Shouyou set it into the surface of the table without a single droplet of it spilling over the rim. Then, as he took his time accommodating a small spoon over a folded napkin, Tobio realized he was leaning slightly down and closer to Tobio’s eyelevel, the perfect distance to notice the few freckles that scattered across his cheeks.
Oddly, something turned in his gut and a switch flipped inside his mind, leaving him dumbstruck and unable to tear his eyes from his dusted face, barely catching that Shouyou was speaking again.
“…it is sweetened with brown sugar and topped with whipped cream and cocoa sprinkles to work as a perfect contrast” He explained standing back, a giant smile splitting up his face. “Go on, taste it.” Tobio was finally distracted from his haze, urged by Shouyou’s gentle command to reach for the mug that felt warm underneath his fingers, effectively serving as a heater.
Then, the first taste of coffee hit his tongue in an explosion of flavors that were complimented so well together that Tobio almost felt like moaning, but instead he just said, “Oh my god” before diving right back in to drink some more of the warm liquid, cautious to not burn his mouth but eager to get another taste of it.
Shouyou visibly beamed at his reaction, perking up at the evident approval of his creation.
“I had been intending to add that drink to the menu, but I needed to test it first to see how well it would be received by the customers”.
“It will do well among them, take my word” Tobio said after another sip of his beverage, “But if it doesn’t, I’ll buy it every day to make up for the lack of support.” He swore, probably too serious for a matter like coffee.
The ginger’s eyes widened at the casual declaration, blushing lightly when he could tell how genuine the man consuming his food was talking. He tried not to dwell on it, but a compliment to his creations always made his insides buzz with giddiness.
So, taking advantage of it, he tried to offer, “Would you like to have anything else to accompany your drink? We have proper meals or just pastries, whatever you’d prefer.”
Tobio considered it, remembering how delicious the pastries had looked on the display counter, but also trying to decide based on what would be best to consume with the rest of his shift still ahead of him. Before he could settle on either of his options, however, his phone buzzed inside the pocket of his jeans.
Reaching for it with a quick ‘sorry’ aimed at the waiter, he fished it in time to read a chain of messages that Miwa was still writing.
Miwa: Tobio-chan I’m sorry!!!
Miwa: Are you near the shop? Something came up and I need your help!!
Miwa: I can wait until you come back but I still need to leave real quick to check something of last minute.
Miwa: I swear I’m not cutting your break time short!!
Miwa: I just need to leave someone to attend the phone calls while I’m not here
Miwa: I’ll make it up to you I swear!!!
With a sigh, Tobio typed back a simple okay before writing he’d arrive in five before his sister could flood his phone with a thousand new messages and sighed again as he accepted his fate of cutting his time short at the café with its heavenly crafted menu. He put the device back inside his pocket before returning his attention to Shouyou, who had waited patiently by the table.
“Sorry, I need to head back to work” Tobio felt slightly awkward explaining it, as if he owed something to the waiter who he had just met mere minutes ago and was now failing him by not staying to try his other creations. “I’ll finish this but that would be it, I believe. But thanks” He raised his mug as he dipped his head in another silent motion of gratefulness.
Shouyou, however, seemed to meditate before speaking again, a new offer of his own.
“Would you like to take some cookies with you? They are oatmeal-based, and we have different flavors – there’s blueberry, pumpkin and coconut. And they are healthy and contain a lot of energy, plus they are ready to go, so you wouldn’t be entertained any longer” He quickly explained, apparently taking all possible points into consideration. Then, more sheepishly, he added, “If you want, of course”.
Tobio didn’t know why, but he was finding it hard to deny him anything, so he nodded, surprise clear on his voice as he answered, “Oh, yeah. That… that would be good, too”.
Shouyou’s nerves seemed to ease after hearing him take in the offer, smiling brightly before he started to take some steps backwards without looking where he was going.
“I’ll get them ready for you. Once you’re done with your drink, just come to the counter and I’ll hand them to you as well as your bill.” He said, his eyes never leaving Tobio’s retracting body as he continued to be sat in his place, his mug halfway emptied. Tobio nodded, catching one last glimpse of Shouyou’s smile before he turned around and disappeared behind the counter, where Tobio guessed he would be putting his cookies to go.
Redirecting his gaze back to his drink, Tobio used a whole minute to finish its content, rushing the liquid to go down his throat without losing its warmth nor its delicate flavors.
Once he was done, he stood up and marched towards the counter one more time, where he allowed his eyes to fall briefly on the pastries displayed before lifting them up in search of his waiter.
However, behind the counter was only the same girl from earlier, her smile back in place as she greeted him once again.
“Hi! Here’s your bill, the cookies are already packed and are placed at the end of the bar. Would you like to pay in cash or by card?” She asked gently as she politely signaled to where the cookies were waiting to be picked up.
Tobio answered almost in autopilot, his conscious mind focused on looking for the ginger waiter.
“Cash”.
The rest of the process was done in an instant, the blonde girl waving him goodbye after thanking him for his purchase, but Tobio had stopped paying attention after realizing his waiter was nowhere to be seen.
Cookie bag in one hand, Tobio reached to open the door of the café, but it was open before he had even touched its surface, and the cool air from outside made him squint his eyes for a second.
“Have a nice day! Hope you enjoy the cookies!”.
With a start, Tobio opened his eyes again in time to see Shouyou standing next to the opened door, which he was holding for Tobio with the hand that was not carrying a tray full of empty plates and mugs – something that Tobio hadn’t noticed because he was completely enthralled by the sight of Shouyou one last time, who was looking up at him with a wide smile that split his whole face and reached every corner of his eyes.
Eyes that were staring up at him.
Oh.
Tobio hadn’t realized how much shorter Shouyou was after spending the whole time seated, but now…
Now he could tell and see the few inches that he had over the ginger; notice the way in which those hazel eyes caught more light as they had to look up to meet Tobio’s gaze.
Without knowing, Tobio had made it out of the café, crossed the street safely, and entered the flower shop under a haze that not even Miwa’s rushed explanation to where she was going broke him out of it; not even the dozens of calls he answered dutifully, nor the other thousands of flowers that his shift most probably included. For all Tobio cared, he could survive any trial as long as the picture of one specific ginger guy lingered behind his eyes.
Then, before the sun finally set and the key on the flower shop’s lock turned indicating that it was properly closed, Tobio aimed one last look at the café still vibrant with movement in the inside, where warm light flooded out into the street, from where Tobio could spot a head of ginger hair making his way to one of the tables with steaming cups on a tray, a smile so bright on his face.
“I’m going to work full time now” Tobio told Miwa, who was completely unaware of where her brother’s eyes were lingering, taking in the last look of Shouyou for the day.
“Thank god” was all Miwa said, fist-bumping the air in victory.
Tobio felt like doing the same when Shouyou turned to look through the window, spotting Tobio in the distance and reckoning him with a wider stretch on his lips.
He couldn’t wait to see what the next days had awaiting for him.