YES, PERFECT. He tried to hide how absolutely ECSTATIC he felt at the new situation, and merely nodded in agreement. Even the black coffee sounded HEAVENLY. Please, he hated coffee with sugar or cream on it. Give it to him black and strong.
“I don’t mind at all~ It sounds perfect even. It’ll sure wake me up” he smiled, now proceeding to make the division of the remaining food -bread and sandwiches here, and the muffin for Kyouhei to take. Then he started washing that last tray.
“Now we only have to turn off the electricity, throw the trash, put the sign and close the doors” he recounted on his head “If you can throw the trash outside I’ll do the rest myself~”
Well, that worked out rather easily! Kyouhei couldn’t help but be pleased with the development as a whole. It was always nice to have co-workers that didn’t sweat the small details.
“Yeah! I don’t drink too much because my sleep schedule is already a mess but for a black coffee, it sure is flavorful. Maybe it’s just the way “Holy Grounds” brews it?”
Kyouhei set his goods aside, next to the apron that was part of his uniform, and stretched his arms over his head.
“Sure, sure, I’ll leave the rest to you! Make sure to get the lights in the bathroom, I kept forgetting when I first worked here.” Much to his embarrassment, but his manager caught him until he remembered for himself.
He made sure the handles of the trash bags were double knotted before heaving them up, smiling softly when he realized it felt easier then it did a month back. Results were nearly as sweet as their matcha green tea iced coffee.
For what was likely the dozenth time that day, Jane found
themselves apologizing to a customer, taking back the improperly made order
with a polite but strained smile. The customer – a young woman with a gentle
expression and understanding eyes – spoke softly to reassure them, telling how
it wasn’t really any trouble.
The coffee shop, Holy Grounds, was a fine establishment
located in the city of Ouvara. Known for its friendly and competent staff
alongside its relaxing atmosphere of its rich colors and assorted tables,
individuals would find themselves able to sit back and for a moment forget the
stress of life with their favorite drinks and food of choice.
However, sadly just now, Jane was not the best
representation for the shop. Having fumbled several orders by giving them to
the wrong people, mixing them incorrectly, and even once calling someone by the
completely wrong name, they were having a rough day. This was mostly just due
to the fact that they were new, and this was their second shift ever at the
shop. At least when they did fumble, they were able to recover rather quickly
with a smile, apologizing and showing with genuine effort that they were
trying.
Running the day through their head up until this point, many
the customers had been very understanding as well, graceful and patient as their
situations were fixed as the current young woman was. Again, she offered a
smile as Jane returned with the correct drink and leaned across the counter to give
to the other. Imagine their surprise when the young woman reached for the
drink, but for a moment, slid her hands around Jane’s own so they couldn’t pull
away.
Startled, Jane looked up at the other, who’s previously warm
eyes had a glint of mischievousness in them.
“Do you think you might be working tomorrow…?”
The question, seemingly out of nowhere, confused the poor
frazzled Jane who merely gave a long, hard blink. Working…?
“A-Ah, well, yes I suppose so! I have another shift tomorrow.”
They responded cheerfully, attempting to tug at the hold somewhat, but gaining
no leverage. They were beginning to feel somewhat uncomfortable, a flush brought
up in their cheeks at the lingering gaze of the woman. At last, satisfied, the
other offered a good-natured giggle and released the other, turning and beginning
to part with a small wink. “Then perhaps we’ll see each other again.”
“Um… perhaps! Have a nice day!”
Now thoroughly confused, Jane stood back and placed a hand
over their beating heart to catch their breath. Luckily, there was no immediate
need for another barista at the counter as the evening crowd had slowed to a
crawl and no one stood waiting. Smoothening stray strands of hair from their
face, they glanced to the side, where the other currently on staff was waiting
in the winds and likely had seen the entire ordeal.
Kyouhei, they believed his name was. They hadn’t had a chance
to properly talk or introduce themselves just yet, but now in the moment of
peace, Jane offered a nervous smile and attempted to release a pent-up breath.
“I hope I didn’t upset that woman,” They offered in an
attempt for small talk and to release some of their nervousness. The woman had been
acting quite odd there at the end and Jane hadn’t been altogether comfortable
with it. Usually so good at reading people, that one’s intentions were… a complete mystery.
Because of his experience at “Holy Grounds”, Kyouhei was often required to sit in on other shifts and supervise. It was actually a good excuse to hang around his workplace and do things like study and read in preparation for his Fall workload.
Really. He didn’t mind doing extra work. He was being paid, after all, plus, the better his coworkers were at their jobs the less work he had to do later. He did wish he could shoo off the odder customers they ended up having.
“Who can say?” He finished drying out a mug and set it back on the shelf, smiling wryly at first and then brightly.
“You aren’t in trouble, though, and that’s the good thing. You’ve been doing really, really well!”
If only he’d had someone at his back encouraging him his first few weeks. Kyouhei knew the trick to getting people to work hard and continuously was to support them and encourage them to keep trying.
The bell over the door rung, alerting him that there was a new customer, and he dusted imaginary dust off of his apron. Sometimes customers would come to the counter, sometimes they would sit down and expect to be served like this was a restaurant, not a coffee shop. Kyouhei leaned toward Jane smiling softly.
“Want me to get this one or do you think you can go without a break for a little while longer?”
“One can be part of the crowd and still stand out,” he chimed, freeing a hand to place it against his chest as if offering himself an example, clearly not as weary as he should have been.
Even with a more human appearance, Avery still primped and preened like his life depended on it. You’d think the humans who desired the properties of dragons enough to hunt them for it would spare a compliment or two for the feathers he’d managed to cleverly disguise as regular accessories; covered with bands of gold, but the glances he received from time to time were good enough, for now.
“Mmh. But I suppose keeping a low profile wouldn’t be so bad.”
There were other things to focus on than the humans surrounding them, after all. He had Kyouhei at his side, music ringing out around them, and all the sights and smells of a festival he hadn’t experienced before.
Taking one of Kyouhei’s hands in his own – a true bonus to mingling in with the humans around them – Avery wondered out loud as they moved.
“Perhaps there’s something that’s caught your eye from the stalls, as well? It’d be a shame coming all this way, with all this effort, to not take something back with us, wouldn’t it~?”
Typical hoarder, eyes always on the shiny stuff.
“Oh, don’t worry, even all disguised like this there’s no way someone would mistake you for some common human.” He reassured, using their connected hands - and he definitely squeezed Avery’s fingers when he laced them together - to keep them out of the thick of the crowds.
He didn’t want either of them to be dragged away, after all, and he for sure didn’t want to be separated from his mate.
“I saw some of those little music boxes a few stalls back, but we can circle back to them. Something smells good, I want to check that out first before we go hunting for gold and trinkets.”
“Yeah I guess I did.I acknowledge that I went into philosophy over some cards and I will reflect on it.” Dongmin chuckled with amusement. There was no need to pull any cards with him, he will reflect on it and try not to do that again.
Dongmin continued to watch as Kyouhei was trying to balance the cards to make his card castle. He managed to get two two triangles set up and he’d put a card on top. That was good enough for participation for now, he thought. He’d much rather watch to see Kyouhei struggling working with the cards.
“So how long are you going to keep this up, the card castle?” Dongmin asked, in a very roundabout way trying to figure out if he was going to complete the castle and then get back to his studies or not. “I feel like you need a lot of focus to make card castles though. I think a lack of focus would be counterproductive.”
“Self-reflection is also very philosophical. You’re trapped now. Not philosophizing is an impossibility!” The brunet let out a laugh, knocking over his pitiful card castle while trying to balance two more on top of the platform created by his two triangles.
“Oh, boo.” Kyouhei pressed his lips together, resisting the urge to stick them out dramatically. “I don’t think I’m gonna keep this up. It was fun while it lasted, question mark?”
He started organizing the cards by the highlighter color of the title, doinig his best to ignore the fact that he hadn’t done much memorizing or review. It had been worth it.
“Thanks for helping me distract myself, Dongmin! You’re an angel in disguise!” Kyouhei grinned as widely as he could, trying to visualized and channel the brightest thing in the universe to try to project how grateful he was to his friend.
University life in itself was hard, but the actual academic side? He hadn’t quite prepared himself for what awaited him upon becoming an ‘independent student’ so while money wasn’t a problem, the looming threat of failure really was. And Avery did not enjoy failure.
“I told my family I’d do something business related to keep them satisfied, but frankly, I’m already over it.”
At least Kyouhei had managed to settle in, which gave him hope that he too would adjust eventually. And if he didn’t, he now knew there was a familiar face around the city he could whine and complain at when the time called for it… which might become too often, when his workload really increased.
“Actually being here is great, though,” he explained, expression brightening. It had been the looks of Akounri that had lured him in the first place, so he ultimately had no regrets about his decision. “I wish I had the time to explore a little more. Ah, maybe when the weather is a little warmer~”
Snickering quietly, the laugh was hidden behind the back of his hand.
“Is that so? You’d think a cafe would be a chic place to visit, non?” There was a pause, followed by another confidently self-assured smile. “If I visit you there, would you consider it to be an improvement?”
Somewhere like that would make for a perfect meeting place, after all.
Kyouhei leaned forward to give Avery a comforting pat on the forearm. The new experience was going well for him, but that didn’t mean he was ignorant of its difficulties.
“I’m sure you’ll figure it out. In the end, you’re the one who will have the degree, and you’ll be the one who has taken all the classes. Um,” he hesitated, then smiled warmly, gaze relaxed. “It helped me to remember that while the advice of my elders is important, that’s all it is; advice.”
That was really all he could say on the matter, since he wasn’t sure if Avery was into the idea of becoming best friends again or if they were starting over, as close acquaintences, due to the time spent apart. Kyouhei had missed his chidhood BFF.
“I-I-I,” He stuttered, pulling back slightly, face warm. The brunet’s ears were flushed pink, partially out of surprise, partially out of embarrassment. “I would be happy to see you? If you actually want to come?”
Any serious reasoning behind Kyouhei’s leaving his family could be saved for a later time, when they weren’t sitting in the middle of a coffee shop, Avery figured. For now, he’d much rather spend the time getting to know where he could find his old friend around the city from now on – a rarity for someone who went through friendships like people went through tissues.
“And the coincidences keep on coming,” he chimed, pausing only to take a sip of the drink he’d set aside when the other had first caught his attention. “That’s where I’m studying as well! Though I have yet to figure out any kind of major…”
Avery’s nose wrinkled in distaste momentarily, a phone call from his family asking about his studies flashing in his memory. They were under the assumption their son had travelled to get some education in business or even journalism, but photography was still the only interest he had in mind. It was only a matter of time until he’d have to make some kind of decision, but for now he would gladly sweep it under the rug to dwell on another day.
“Sounds like you have things rather on track. I’m glad!”
The same couldn’t exactly be said for himself. Growing up with a silver spoon in his mouth, Avery was having difficulties adjusting to the less obvious parts of independence. Showing up at a workplace every other day was fine and all, but the basics like handling his own laundry and cooking or paying his own bills was still largely a mystery.
“Tell me, are all the Ouvara dorms so…” Think of a pleasant way to put it, Avery. “Petite? I was planning on moving again to somewhere more spacious, but this might be incentive enough to stay~”
Sorry Kyouhei, as genuinely happy as he is to see you again, meeting like this was a one way ticket to helping him figure out how to get shit done after throwing himself in the deep end – especially now that he knows their dorm building is the same.
“Romance is rather lacking, but I do work somewhere now; as a photographer at a modelling agency, so I’m in no shortage of attractive people to surround myself by~ ”
And that was really all that counted, wasn’t it?
Gosh, Kyouhei couldn’t believe his luck! Or would it be inattentiveness? They were attending the same college and it wasn’t like Avery didn’t stick out, how had the brunet never seen him?
“Ah, choosing a degree, singular, is hard. I mean, money probably isn’t an issue for us, but in general, the whole process is just twists and turns and paperwork, the worst of the three.” Oof, that was borderline rambling, he had better slow his roll.
“It was a difficult adjustment at first, but aside from a few unavoidable missteps I’m getting by.” He could only hope Avery was doing the same. It would be rude to ask right off the bat, right?
“The dorms really are… an adjustment, for sure. Not that I’m complaining, it’s cool that I don’t have to walk too far to classes and back.” He couldn’t help but flush a bit and avert his gaze when Avery added that last bit. Kyouhei wasn’t sure how to interpret it, and so… he tried not to dwell.
Instead, he let the conversation turn to other people, the easier topic.
“I’m jealous! All I get are old businessmen and gaggles of girls. Not that I’m complaining, because they’re the main source of my income, but I wish some cute people my age would frequent, you know?”
“Haha! I guess you’re right, but think about it this way, nothing bad has happened yet, so things are still a’right.”
Mizumachi chuckled to himself at Kyohei’s meek attitude as he drew in closer to him, putting trust in him, an Ayakashi. Well, he didn’t mind doing a good deed every now and again before he goes to do what he normally does, which is tricking humans. That’s the job of his kind, wouldn’t you know?
“No prob! Wanna hold hands or something? Would that help you feel more relaxed?”
The forest was dark and there was a chilly wind that would blow past the forest every now and again. It wouldn’t do Kyouhei any good if he’d accidentally gotten himself separated from Mizumachi, who was actually trying to do a good deed for once.
“You made your way pretty deep into the forest, but it won’t take very long to get back out, so don’t worry. You’ll be out of here safe and sound in no time.”
Mizumachi tried to console the worried little guy the best that he could. It was hard to figure out how to console a human when you yourself were not human.
Did this guy think Kyouhei was a toddler or something?! He went to immediately deny the offer of a hand to hold and then paused to reconsider.
The last time he’d been alone (and not just in a random place, in the comfort of his own home) something had snatched him up and spirited him away. As strange as the situation was….
“I’ll take a rain check on the hand-holding, but… you don’t mind if I walk fairly close to you?” Personal bubbles were weird and personal, Kyou didn’t want to accidentally trample on a societal norm.
“Thank you for your kindness. Assuming this is a forest near to where I live, would you want to come by for some food? I feel like I should pay you back for this somehow.”
Today was one of the days that Engel worked alone. Hiyori had classes and Engel’s other employee had taken a week off for a vacation with their family. He didn’t really mind at all. Since most of Petit Petales’ business was online and large orders that needed to be made weeks in advance, there was actually a lot of downtime in the actual storefront.
That isn’t to say they didn’t have a good flow of customers, it was just that some days ended up being quieter than others. Days where Engel could sit at the counter with his textbooks open and get some of his homework done early. He’d been doing that more lately so he’d have time to experiment at home with his cooking.
Murmuring softly to himself as he read over a passage again to make sure he hadn’t missed anything, Engel almost missed the small chime of bells that indicated someone had entered the shop.
Tilting his head up, Engel pushed his hood back slightly so it wasn’t falling into his face. Oh. A potential customer?
“Ah… sorry,” he slipped his notepaper in between the pages of his textbook and closed it, offering a faint smile to the person that had walked in. He seemed to be quite taken with the large assortment of flowers that filled the open shop.
Engel personally went through every corner of the shop on his own as soon as he got to the shop. Every flower and plant that was on display was carefully taken care of and presented by the red-head. His people skills may have been lacking, but his green thumb spoke for itself.
He took a discreet steadying breath before speaking again, “…Is there …anything I can help …you with today?”
“Oh! Um….” Kyouhei made a variety of hand gestures while struggling to come up with a conversation opener. He honestly hadn’t thought of how exactly this would go down, but how hard could it be.
“Hello, I hope this- that I’m not going to trouble you! I was just wondering if you made smaller bouquets?” If not, he could play it off like he was going to buy one as a declaration of love or something, but… really, he just wanted some flowers.
“Maybe four or five different types? I’m not picky about flower language at all if that’s a factor, I heard this place knew its stuff.”
Avery’s comment about his looks in the hopes of gaining some kind of response had completely flown over Kyouhei’s head, but he was willing to ignore that for now. After all, it had been quite some time since the two had last seen each other, meaning a catch up between them was long overdue.
There was a rare, brief flash of concern across his expression. So, Kyouhei’s being here was more of an escape than anything else? In a certain way, Avery could relate. His own parents were fine in terms of treatment, but the weight of responsibility and breaking in to the business world like his father wanted was a burden he didn’t want to bother with, so promising to do well at university while away from his watchful eye was a decent enough compromise.
And lucky him, just look who this path had led him to.
“But that means you’re staying here, right? In the city?” Avery actually felt somewhat hopeful to keep him around, which was most definitely the reasoning behind the sudden rapid-fire question round; babbling on in his excitement. “So am I! I live not even fifteen minutes from here. Where is it that you study? Have you been here long? What’s your work? You’ll have to let me visit sometime!”
Kyouhei let himself grimace - had that been too open? He did have the tendency to overshare and then back off at the speed of light, so maybe just casually letting the conversation redirect was for the best.
“I’m probably a semi-permanent resident of Ouvara-Danon, yeah.” He laughed, lightly, and folding his arms over his stomach to weigh himself into the chair.
“I’m taking classes at Ouvara U, for majors in Botany and Geology. I have plenty of time and money, so I figured… might as well do what I really enjoy, right? And I don’t think jobs in those fields are oversaturated yet, so…”
The brunet let himself smile, slow and wide and genuine. Every time he was able to consider his existing freedom, it made him glow, inwardly. All warm, like sitting in sunbeams.
“No rush, n’ all. I’m just rooming in the dorms for now, and I work as a barista pretty close to the college. Hey-” Kyou leaned forward, buzzing slightly with energy. “That’s so cool that you live close by! I’m down for visiting each other, I could use some company from an old face… as much as I love new people,” the words tasted sour in his mouth with sarcasm, “familiarity is better.
“What about you? Taking any classes, any romance in your life, or honest work?”
Ah? Did he sensed a bit of… reluctance? He wasn’t sure what exactly was up with Kyouhei’s little hesitation by the end of his sentence, but it gave him a nice chance. After all, that ridiculous muffin was the last thing he wanted to have in his mouth.
“Hmn, but if we cut it in half it’ll get even colder… not to mention the top will crumble and it’ll be a bit of a mess” he said in a thoughful tone, a hand on his chin to add to this illusion “I don’t mind if you take it~ You worked very hard today so you deserve it~ And if you want to keep things fair… I could get two slices of the pumpkin bread instead of one and a half. Doesn’t that sound better?”
“Ah—h, that’s just what I was thinking!” Kyouhei adopted a thinkers pose, jutting one hip out for the theatrics of it. He couldn’t be 100% cute all the time, right? A little variety kept his style fresh.
“If you don’t mind it, I’ll make you a nice dark brew next shift to make us even. I know black coffee can be icky sometimes, but it’ll wake you right up.” He turned slightly and held one hand out to Yaguchi, grinning slightly. “Deal-io?”