Chapter Text
At six o'clock, the city was still sleepy from the late hours before five in the morning.
You walked to your mothers' café, The Rainbow Basket, at a slow and careful pace. You were still tired and longed for more rest, but you had work to do. Besides, going to the café was something you looked forward to everyday.
The café's little doorbell rang as you opened the front door. The smell of coffee and smoothies and sweet and savory treats hit your nose with delicious smells, making you hungry. You yawned as you walked towards the counter and cash registers.
"Good morning sweetie. Did you make sure to have enough rest?" one of your mothers, [Surname] Ayame, asked you from the coffee machines.
"'Morning mom. Yeah, I slept enough. Still kind of tired though," you replied while giving her a quick hug. You entered the Employees Only room and put your bag in one of the lockers and got changed. You slipped on a dark teal apron over your tan t-shirt and short dark blue overalls and pinned your name tag to your shirt. Tying the apron securely against your back, you exited the room and back out to the registers. You usually were able to either man the cash register or cook in the kitchen, but you preferred working at the register since it allowed you to talk with visitors and friends.
"Honey, you look a little bit tired. Are you sure you had enough rest last night?" your other mother, [Surname] Manami, asked you as she walked out of the kitchen.
"I'm fine mom, don't worry," you reassured her with a smile. Okay, maybe I did stay up a bit late reading fanfics last night. But it was a really good fic series!
She nodded and returned the smile and gave your other mother a kiss on the cheek before re-entering the kitchen. You smiled at the two of them showing affection to each other before turning back to the register. You typed in a few letters to sign in to it. Once that was done you leaned against the counter and propped your elbows on the countertop to rest your chin on your palms.
Nobody had come in yet so you had time to let your eyes look around the place and let your thoughts wander. The Rainbow Basket was a spacious café with pine wood flooring and white and dark red brick walls. Large, clear windows lined the front and right side of the café from where you were standing and spherical lights hung from the high ceiling. Vintage chairs and tables were spread out around the place and chairs that spun lined up along the long counter. The kitchen and counter were in the center, forming a rounded rectangle in the center of the café. In one corner was a mini library for reading and relaxing while off to the left was a stage for performances complete with stage lights. And in the back of the café were the restrooms and the lower floor for extra space in case there was ever a flood of customers (which has happened before on occasion.) It was a nice, vintage, and urban café that your mothers owned. And it was the only queer-friendly café in the city, which was something you and your mothers took pride in.
"[Name]?"
The sudden deep voice calling for you snapped you out of your thoughts. You looked up to see one of your friends, Sawamura Daichi.
"Yo, Daich! You're up earlier than usual," you greeted him with a grin.
"Yeah," he chuckled, "I wanted to get to the library early so I could squeeze in more studying before my morning classes. I have a test coming up soon for one of them."
"I see, I see. Is it the usual for you today?"
"Sure. Could you get Suga's usual as well?"
"Coming right up!" You wrote down the order and handed it to a co-worker. You turned back to Daichi. "Hey, where is Suga by the way?"
Sugawara Koushi was Daichi's boyfriend. They lived together in their own dorm. "He's still sleeping. I wanted to get him his favorite coffee before heading for the campus's library," Daichi replied.
"Aww, such a sweet and caring boyfriend you are. Suga must love being treated so lovingly by you. In public and in the sheets." You grinned and gave him a knowing look.
Daichi's face reddened at your suggestive remark. He groaned. "Oh my god, not now [Name]. It's too early for this."
You laughed. "Sorry, just joking with you."
"I still can't believe you're asexual and yet you can flirt and make innuendos so smoothly at the same time."
"Not all asexuals are shy, hateful people like the stupid, pathetic stereotype we're put under."
"I know, I know."
Once the orders were done you handed the two drinks to Daichi. "Here ya go Daichi. Have a nice day! See you tomorrow!"
"I will be coming by again later with Suga and the others you know."
"Yes I know that."
You two smiled before laughing. After grabbing the two drinks, Daichi waved goodbye and left the café. A few customers came by after that but only to pick up orders, so none of them stayed long enough so that you could chat with them.
Around eight in the morning was when rush hour finally began. More customers started coming in to either order something quick or to sit and chat with friends or just sit by themselves and be comfortable with themselves if they were too shy to interact with others.
The rush hour ended at ten o'clock. Which was around the same time when your first morning class was about to begin. Rush hour wouldn't begin again until lunchtime, which was when you would be coming by for lunch with your friends.
You took off your pin and slipped it into the pocket of your apron. "Mom! Mother! My shift's over now. I'm heading to my morning class now," you informed your mothers.
"Okay sweetie! See you later!" They both called out to you.
You gave them a peace sign as you exited the café. Hiking up your backpack onto your back, you navigated your way to the campus. You already had all of your books and notes for your classes, so there was no need to go back to your home to get anything.
You arrived at your first class with just enough time left to spare. You exhaled and slid off your bag and set it neatly on the ground next to your seat. You started taking out your notes for the class.
"Yo! [Name]!"
You looked up to see who had called your name. You saw two more good friends of yours, Kuroo Tetsurou and Kozume Kenma, approaching you. Kuroo had his hand held up to wave at you while Kenma only sent a smile and nod in your direction. Oh, they were dating by the way.
You smiled at them. "Good morning Kuroo and Kenma!"
"Well morning is almost over, but I guess so." Kenma took the spot on your right.
You rolled your eyes but kept your smile. "We still got like, two hours Kenma. It's still morning to me at least."
"'Morning [Name]. How was the morning shift?" Kuroo greeted back as he took his seat, naturally, next to Kenma.
You shrugged. "The usual. As usual."
"Ah, I see."
"You guys wanna head over to The Rainbow Basket after class for lunch?"
"You know we could never say no to that offer," Kuroo grinned. Kenma nodded in agreement.
"Great! I'll give you two a discount!"
"Are you sure you're allowed to do that [Name]?" Kenma asked.
"Obviously Kenma. My moms own the place and I practically co-own the place with them."
"For all we know you'd probably end up giving everyone a discount," Kuroo remarked with that cheeky grin of his.
"Whatever Kuroo. I'm just too kind like that. Unlike you."
Kuroo placed a hand on his chest. "Hey, I'm always this kind."
Kenma looked at him with a skeptical look while you side-eyed him. Kuroo started breaking out in a sweat, worried that you guys seriously didn't think he was kind. You laughed at his reaction while Kenma smiled and reached over to kiss Kuroo on the nose, running a hand through his permanent bedhead.
"You dummy. Of course we know you're kind. I've known you since we were kids and I know the kind of person you are," Kenma told him.
Kuroo gave a silent squeal and hugged Kenma in a tight embrace. "I love you Kenma!"
Kenma chuckled softly, although blushing a bit, flustered from the public display of affection. "Love you too Tetsu."
"Hey, class started like three minutes ago and you two already missed some of the notes," you told them without looking up from your notebook as you were writing stuff down.
They looked at you with blank white eyes before snapping out of it and quickly opening up their own notebooks to get the information down.
You stretched your arms as you exited the lecture hall with your friends. "Okay, let's hurry and head over to my moms' café! I'm starving!"
"Right behind you bro," Kuroo said as he held Kenma's hand.
"[Name]! You guys! Wait up!"
You three stopped in your tracks and turned your heads to the left. You saw more of your friends, Nishinoya Yuu, Yaku Morisuke, and Watari Shinji, as well as Nishinoya and Yaku's boyfriends, Azumane Asahi and Haiba Lev respectively. Watari was asexual—just like you—and biromantic. Your group greeted them all as they joined you.
"You guys want to come with us for lunch to the café?" you asked them.
"Heck yeah, your moms' café is the best one in the city," Nishinoya replied, grinning at you. The other four agreed with him.
"Nice! Let's head over then! Watari?" You held out your arm for the bluish-gray eyed male.
He chuckled and linked his arm with the one you offered him. "As you wish [Name]."
"Onward, my friends!" you exclaimed, your other hand extended out to point in the direction of the café.
The Rainbow Basket was six blocks away from the campus, so that gave you guys enough time to chat. Lev started up a debate over which was better to eat: grilled squid or boiled squid. Yaku and Kuroo chose opposite sides. Asahi panicked and declared he was neutral on the subject, while Nishinoya laughed and reassured his boyfriend and said boiled squid was the best, taking Yaku's side. You went with grilled because you preferred nicely toasted food. Lev admitted he had to go with grilled too. Yaku was taken aback at the fact that his tall boyfriend choose the other option and not the same as his. Kenma went with boiled.
You all turned to Watari. "What about you Watari?"
"Ehh, neither one of them. I like thawed."
You tilted your heads in confusion. "...What?"
"Hey, the café's just over there, so let's hurry and go in," Watari pointed out.
You all just stood there before shaking your heads to get rid of your daze and went along with the libero's preference. As you tried reaching for the door handle the door suddenly burst open and a blur whizzed past you guys. After spending a few moments of blinking and registering what just happened, you swung the door open. You came face to face with one of your mothers.
"What just—?"
"That boy stole some cash from one of the registers," she explained.
"What?! Yaku, Nishinoya, Watari! You guys come with me to catch him! The rest of you stay here and wait!" you commanded.
The three liberos were quick to respond and followed you, taking off down the street after the guy. He was a pretty good and fast runner. You could tell he was good at parkour, seeing as he nimbly leaped over cars and used poles and lampposts to swing himself in different directions. He tried shaking you guys off by making random turns on the streets, thinking he could outrun you guys and lose you. But you guys were just as fast. He was caught by surprise when Nishinoya and Watari came to a halt in front of him, forcing him to stop. With the help of Yaku, who picked you up effortlessly, he threw you towards the guy. He didn't even see it coming as you grabbed him by the waist and tackled him to the ground.
"Hold it mister! Before you try to run off again, please hand over the money back that you stole." You held out your hand, awaiting for the money.
The guy grumbled before handing it back to you. "Sorry."
"It's all right. If you wanted to steal or shoplift, you should've asked and let us known first."
He did a double-take. "Wait...what?"
"Oh, don't worry, we never punish people who try to rob from us. We understand that people who try to rob us have a reason why. We know that deep inside, everyone has good in them. For example, I'm guessing you're homeless?"
He was only made more confused at how you hit the nail on the head. "Yeah...How did you know?"
"You look like you haven't eaten anything decent in over a month. I'm assuming you stole from us to have money to get food?"
"U-um, yes."
You took back out the wad of cash he had stolen and handed some twenty dollar bills to him. "Here. This should last you at the most three months. Make sure you spend it carefully."
"What are you doing?" he asked, completely mystified by the situation. "I just stole from you guys. You're...giving me money after what I did?"
"Like I said, we know everyone has good in them somewhere inside. I don't know you, but I'm sure you're not a bad kid. Just unfortunate to be homeless. Here, I know a shelter you can go to for help." You took out a mini notebook and pen from your back pocket. You wrote down the address and handed it to him. "Just keep heading down this street until you reach that stop sign five blocks down from here and then make a right. You'll run right into it. The shelter is LGBTQ+ friendly and welcomes anyone. They also have programs to help you get back on your feet. It's okay. You'll be okay."
He felt his eyes stinging with tears. Nobody had shone him as much kindness as this in such a long time. For as long as he had been stuck in this situation. He quickly rubbed at his eyes. "Oh my god, thank you...Just, thank you so much."
You smiled and gave him a thumbs up. "No problem! You're going to all right kid!"
He managed a smile. You guys waved goodbye to him as he went off to find the shelter.
"You sure he's going to be all right?" Nishinoya asked you.
"I'm sure."
"At least he'll be safe now rather than being stuck on the streets with nowhere to go to," Yaku noted.
Watari turned to you with a smile. "That's a really nice thing you did for him. You're a great person [Name]."
"He would've most likely starved to death if I hadn't helped, so how could I not help him," you grinned back.
"Should we head back now?" Yaku suggested.
"Of course. The others are still waiting for us. And I'm still hungry! Let's hurry! We have the tuna special today and I don't want to miss it!"
They all smiled at your reason and walked back to the café with you. When you arrived Kuroo, Kenma, Asahi, and Lev were still waiting on the same spot by the entrance underneath the rainbow flag blowing in the wind.
"How'd it go?" Asahi asked.
"He wasn't a bad kid, just really scared. He didn't have anywhere safe to go to. I gave him directions to the shelter nearby," you answered.
"If that's so, he'll be safe there," Kenma said.
You nodded. They all looked relieved that it didn't turn into something bad.
You walked over to the entrance door and reopened it. You turned back to them with a smile and spread your arm, the large rainbow flag billowing out from above.
"No need to worry about the guy, he'll be okay now at the shelter. Welcome to The Rainbow Basket! We are now open for business!"